Hymn of the River: Finding Truth
by Stormshadow3
Summary: This fanfic is the sequel to a previous story. Neither are recommended. So-called protagonist does not have an inkling of heroism, complexity, nor basic characterization within him.
1. Background Information

...

 **(The previous book in the series was Song of the Shadows: Losing Myself.)**

 **Dance of the Stars (DotS) Series**

 **-Book 2-**

 **Hymn of the River: Finding Truth**

 **By Stormshadow3, a Starkit-like, orange (the fruit) lover, close-to-getting-a-book-published, occasionally strange, person who is neutral on water-related activities, *insert adjective here* she-cat and fellow sheep**

* * *

My life has always been one of running away. Everyone knows it, and no one minds. Because we are all running. I don't know from what, but my mom said it was scary, so I guess I don't need to know after all. But danger is not the only aspect of life. Sometimes it can be deadly, but the world is beautiful.

Just as the rivers are beautiful. Just as I know I will be in the end.

* * *

Dance of the Stars (DotS) Series Book Two: Hymn of the River: Finding Truth

Copyright 2017 by Stormshadow3

-all rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address the author, Stormshadow3.

 **(Of course you knew that was coming, heh.)**

* * *

For the artists of the world (writers, musical artists, that includes you too, and more). Make the world a better place. Inspire.

* * *

Useful Information to Have Before You Start Reading

 **-RiverClan (also called the Wanderers, at the BEGINNING of the story)-**

Director (leader): Clovershadow, a dark tortoiseshell tom with light green eyes

Representative (deputy): Stormwing, a mottled gray tom with clouded blue eyes and black stripes

Healer (medicine cat; open to both genders): Roseshade, a reddish brown she-cat with soft amber eyes

Hunters (warriors who hunt for the clan and fight off and capture intruders; all toms): Nettlepetal, a tortoiseshell and brown tom with leaf-green eyes; Flintscar, a dark gray tom with a stern gaze and amber eyes; Jaggedfeather, a steely-looking tom who has stone-gray eyes and a slightly crooked muzzle

Blizzardsun, a pale white tom with round yellow eyes; Pebblepounce, a cloud-gray tom with small, nimble paws and darting amber eyes; Snakeear, a small tortoiseshell tom with squinted dark green eyes

Embergust, a grouchy dark brown tom with slanted yellow eyes; Brambletail, a light brown tom with a gray underbelly and paws and clear blue eyes; Ravenflight, a jet black tom with slitted green eyes

Brookwind, a carefree brown-and-gray tom with pale eyes

Scavengers (warriors who gather herbs, occasionally fight, and are also tasked with finding the next camp every half moon; all she-cats): Hazelleaf, a light brown she-cat with a posh attitude and meadow-green eyes; Doerunner, a tall sand-colored she-cat with spots of brown fur and beautiful hazel eyes; Quietripple, a dark gray she-cat who needs a severe attitude change, despite her name

Mothfoot, a tiny, quick ginger she-cat with dark gray eyes; Bluepuddle, an emotional blue-gray she-cat with watery dark eyes; Crowfall, a black-and-white she-cat with beady black eyes

Ferretflower, a gray, brown, and white she-cat with large forest-green eyes

Hopefuls (apprentices): Brightpaw, a playful gray tom with large light brown paws and glowing orange eyes; Icepaw, a pale blue-gray she-cat with intense silver eyes

Kits: Tigerkit, a dark orange tom with slicing black streaks and unusually calm blue eyes; Stonekit, a light gray she-cat with darker gray stripes and amber eyes; Frogkit, a tortoiseshell tom with staring green eyes

Cedarkit, a dark brown tom with thin white streaks and sky-blue eyes

Queens: Sagewhisper, a feathery, thin, and sometimes depressed tortoiseshell she-cat who has to be often force-fed (kits: Tigerkit, a dark orange tom with slicing black streaks and unusually calm blue eyes; Stonekit, a light gray she-cat with darker gray stripes and amber eyes; Frogkit, a tortoiseshell tom with staring green eyes) - mate is Ravenflight, a jet black tom with slitted green eyes

Smokethorn, a pale gray she-cat with long tabby stripes and unblinking green eyes (kits: Cedarkit, a dark brown tom with thin white streaks and sky-blue eyes) - mate is Brookwind, a carefree brown-and-gray tom with pale eyes

Elders: Leapingspark, a wiry blue-gray tom with shifting amber and yellow eyes; Silverswirl, a silver-gray she-cat with small brown spots along her underbelly and blue eyes; Condorgaze, a broad brown-and-white tom with piercing yellow eyes

Prisoners: Owlear, a confused-looking tawny tom with sad yellow eyes; Robin, a grouchy she-cat with stiff white fur, a brown underbelly, and sharp black eyes

 **The Laws of the Wanderers:**

1\. Queens and their kits must be fed before hunters, scavengers, hopefuls, healers, and elders.

2\. Every half moon, the "camp" must be vacated along with the clan searching for another temporary home.

3\. Lone cats found near the Wanderers' camp (unless they are kittypets) must be captured and have to stay in the camp for a decided amount of time, while being interrogated about their purpose. If in a group, attack and then move camps.

4\. Do not murder, steal, or mate on ill terms.

5\. Hunters switch places of being director every half moon. Scavengers cannot take that high position.

6\. Healers are the third-highest position after director and representative. They are to be treated respectfully.

7\. Cats may not go out of camp alone at any time. Guards are stationed at the camp entrance every single day and night.

8\. Being a follower of StarClan is highly discouraged. The Wanderers are independent cats that have nothing to do with the supposed warrior ancestors that have failed them.

9\. Members of the Wanderers are free to leave any time they want. However, they cannot rejoin and the camp has to move every time that happens.

10\. "Do not go beyond the thick forest of undergrowth and the steep narrow Gorge, for there lies unpleasant cats you do not want to meet." Those were the final words of StarClan given to the last medicine cat of RiverClan, Twistedmoon. This rule is also how no cat came to disturb LightClan for a long time until a she-cat named Glowpaw finally came along.

(See Song of the Shadows: Losing Myself. )

 **Basics of Present-Day RiverClan:**

Over the many endless moons of running away from dangers and hiding with no clear home in sight, RiverClan has come to call themselves the Wanderers. Only a few mottled old elders would occasionally sleeptalk out the name, "RiverClan," but even that is rare now.

The former beauty of the world has been forgotten.


	2. Boasting

**Hello, everyone! This is Stormshadow3- Storm, if you'll please- here with you today, with a new book. Hymn of the River: Finding Truth. **

**From where we last left off, let's see: Glowpaw of LightClan (which was completely obliterated) killed herself after slashing her sister, Flutterpaw to bits in a rage (long story) and we don't know where she went to- StarClan or the Dark Forest. The other clans are still very much in trouble, with ThunderClan and WindClan in a Hunger Games kind of scenario with cats and no Hunger Games and RiverClan... well...**

 **In fact, this book is entirely about RiverClan and what happened to them, as you may have guessed from the title. Or not. The point is, this is about the life of a young tom who goes to find the meaning of life and how to be loyal and brave to his clan and-**

 **No. Seriously, just no. What exactly am I talking about, then? Well, to start it off... this story begins with a flashback, a few moons before the first book even took root, in which a very much confused wandering cat (who claims that he has escaped from LightClan... wonder what that was about!) is taken prisoner.**

 **Then, back to the present in which our main character and new hero, Cedarkit (now Cedarpaw) is busy being vain. More on that later.**

* * *

Chapter 1

"Stop! You fiends!"

I peeked out from the temporary nursery entrance- everything was temporary around here, the dens, the camp, sometimes even the cats- and peeked out to find a very confused-looking tawny tom being dragged before the director's den by a couple of Hunters. "You're staying here; suspicious business is going on and we don't want anything to do with that," my father growled, his pale eyes in slits.

The tawny tom seemed to sag under his own weight. "But... I thought I had escaped! LightClan has spies everywhere..."

"What's happening to him?" I asked my mother, who was busy patching up a loose corner of the den and pretending not to notice what was going on.

She turned, her unblinking green eyes fixed on me. Paused her work. "Oh, just some poor cat who can't get some peace and rest," she sighed. "Most likely just some wandering loner that happened to get too close to our camp. I can relate to that; aren't we all wanderers at heart?"

It was true. RiverClan- the Wanderers, as we've come to call ourselves- have moved around so much that every half-moon, we would clutch close to ourselves what little we had and continued on our journey to find a new, temporary home. I sometimes asked my dad why we couldn't just stay in one place for once.

"Because, it's not safe," he had explained, his voice slow, as if he were talking to a very dumb kit. "Dangers arise when we choose to settle down. It's best not to have any roots of attachment. It's for the greater good. There are bad cats out there- cats that would do things like, I don't know, capture us and take us prisoner or something, sweetie."

Like us. We had taken Owlear prisoner that day, and I didn't know it yet, but he was only one piece of a larger puzzle. The Incident, as LightClan will eventually come to call it, but for us, it opened up many new pathways that we never thought existed.

The Rising. Cats who have found out and managed to leave.

* * *

I was busy staring at my own reflection in a puddle of water by the camp entrance when my mentor called me out.

"Jaggedfeather," I started as soon as a steely-looking cat began stomping his way towards me. "I have something to ask you... why does the water reflect my own image?"

He looked at me strangely. "How am I supposed to know? Go ask StarClan if you really desire." Small growls started making their way up my throat. That was low. Only foolish kits believed in StarClan.

"Whatever," I muttered, trying to keep my own cool. "What are we doing today?"

"It's a pretty busy day," Jaggedfeather admitted. "First, we need to go start up on your battle training unit- since you're just starting up, you'll be going against a Scavenger. Quietripple, I think. Then, it should be about the time of the half-moon again and Stormwing would be taking over Clovershadow as director- not to mention the moving."

Oh. Great. I had just forgotten about that. The moving. I sighed, feeling more than a bit tired. "Yeah, sure."

* * *

The battle training arena was nothing more than a slight dip in the ground where bushes and trees did not completely overwhelm the area, but no one had bothered to clean out the extra ferns and small stones by the side- probably because it was just temporary.

Quietripple was standing alone in the middle, her dark gray tail swishing back and forth quickly. "So I'm the weakest of them all?" she snarled. "Just because I'm a she-cat and because of my name?"

"Now, now," Jaggedfeather soothed, stepping forward. "We don't mean any of that. You're not weak, the others are just..." he looked back at me for support. "Stronger."

She muttered something under her breath. "So I, a strong cat, happens to be weak when compared with, like, thirty random cats? That's a lot of overpowered cats in this place."

"Just go," Jaggedfeather advised, hissing in my ear. "It's best to approach her in surprise."

Quietripple's ears perked up immediately. "I heard that! You're gonna pay for this." Growling, her claws automatically unsheathed as one and she crouched down, weight on her hind legs.

I gulped. Jaggedfeather began stepping away slowly- great mentor, he was- and I tried to say something like, "No claws in regular battle training!" But as I have found out, speaking is hard to do when you are surrounded by an angry she-cat.

Quietripple pounced.

I didn't know how to dodge, even, and my reflexes must not have been on at the time, so I stood, perplexed and frozen in shock as she leaped towards me, claws at the ready. I winced- and she flew right past me.

I turned my head around slowly. Quietripple was groaning as part of her long tail got tangled in a holly bush and her pelt snagged on quite a few thorns. "I had that," she growled. "Stupid tiny cats. How was I supposed to know how to target when all I've been exposed to is that fat Bluepuddle..."

Jaggedfeather tapped me on the shoulder. "Come on. She's all talk, no skill. Best not tell her I said that."

* * *

 **So this is the end of the first chapter! I feel so accomplished... here are some questions for you to answer:**

 **1\. How do you think the Wanderers eventually came to have different roles for toms and she-cats?**

 **2\. The Wanderers move camps and switch leaders every half-moon... what is the reason for that?**

 **I will be giving a little Spider (Glowpaw) cutscene next chapter, so just be aware!**


	3. Old Starts

**Four reviews are what I need to get the words flowing. Words flowing? Rivers? The Wanderers? RiverClan? Oh, ahahaha, I'm so funny.**

* * *

Chapter 2

When Jaggedfeather and I had gotten back to camp, it was completely silent. We all knew the reason for that: it was the time of the half-moon, and that meant it was time for a new director and, soon, a new camp, too.

Clovershadow sat, head high, in the center of the clearing, with his representative, Stormwing, at his side. We seemed to be the last ones in. I also might have been imagining it, but Stormwing seemed to nod at Jaggedfeather when he padded through the camp entrance.

Filing through to the hopefuls' section, I left my mentor behind.

"Today," Clovershadow started, "is the time of the half-moon." Several cats around us murmured and began whispering to one another. "My loyal representative, Stormwing, will take over my position as director today. I step down humbly until my next turn."

He bowed slightly to Stormwing, his thin, ragged whiskers twitching, and stepped back to let the mottled gray tom take over.

I began playing with a pebble on the ground absentmindedly. I have already seen this precedure being done many times- exactly fifteen times- so I was not very interested. "My clan," Stormwing said, his clouded blue eyes glowing. "It is in my honor to take over as director from our previous leader, Clovershadow."

"Stormwing!" Clovershadow yowled. "Stormwing! Stormwing!"

Slowly but surely, the clan around the clearing began to continue the chant, raising their heads to the skies and opening their mouths. "Stormwing!" I joined in, too, but it was more of a mutter than anything. I was tired, and I wanted to go to sleep. "Stormwing..."

Jaggedfeather cheered the loudest of all. "STORMWING!"

Once the noise began to die down, Clovershadow bent his head and disappeared back into the crowd. Probably won't be picked for at least many moons to come, I decided. By then, the camp was edging towards silence, and Stormwing had a wide grin on his face. "Thank you, my clan. I will lead you the best that I can."

"Is it really so wise for Clovershadow to have picked such a young Hunter?" a light brown she-cat muttered.

I peeked up my ears at Hazelleaf's comment. "It's his first turn?" My curious blue eyes gleamed. "I'm gonna be like him someday. I only have a few moons before my official warrior ceremony!" I continued to chatter.

Hazelleaf chuckled. "That's great, Cedarpaw."

I suddenly felt a rush of resentment for her. She-cats, or scavengers, for the most part, weren't allowed to be chosen as representatives or directors. My mom had said that there were sometimes rare cases, but I had never seen them myself.

"Well, you can still learn to fight, at least," I said, trying to cheer her up. "You also guard the camp and help Roseshade and stuff. It's better than just being a queen."

Hazelleaf just blushed.

"My clan!" Stormwing declared, in his annoyingly high-pitched voice. The elders often gossiped- outside of his hearing range, of course- that his parents had named him in the hopes that he would change. Of course, it was just the way his voice was, so there was nothing to be done about that. "The Quest is on!"

The Quest, I mused. Is that what they call it nowadays?

The she-cats of the camp began forming into their own small groups, muttering to themselves and discussing things that I could not hear. Well, except for Crowfall, of course. The smooth-furred black cat's distinctive, almost cawing voice could be heard from pretty much everywhere. "But what about Sagewhisper?" she squeaked loudly.

"She will be fine. Mothfoot and I will carry her," a tall, sand-colored she-cat replied, glancing towards the darkened nursery.

Sagewhisper has been known all around the camp as being regularly depressed, sometimes a sleepwalker, and often found agitated and confused, wandering from den wall to den wall and back again.

No one knows why, but it is thought that it was a cause of her previous mate's death, the one before Ravenflight had swung her off her paws- some tom named Burningbranch. However, Sagewhisper has never quite confirmed this theory.

Crowfall began pacing. Several cats had to go get out of her way. "B- but she won't let you!" she stammered.

Doerunner, the sand-colored she-cat, flicked her tail in frustration. "Of course she will. She knows what's best for her- and her kits." She turned around, and raised her voice level significantly. "Is everyone ready?"

"Yes," the clan chorused. This half-moon ritual had been repeated many times throughout the Wanderers' history, and the role of finding a new camp had been given for granted to the she-cats. They had been waiting for that moment, and finally, it came.

I was waiting for something, too. For it was always Quietripple who would then call out in her loud, seemingly bossy tone, "Like always!" Then, some of the cats would start snickering, but most had gotten used to it by now.

It didn't come.

I blinked. Searched the crowd of cats, cats with faces, faces that were blurred and hard to see in the dying amber sunlight. But she wasn't there. No sign of Quietripple... where was she?

"Hey, do you know where Quietripple is?" I asked, pushing through the crowd to reach Hazelleaf, who was busy trying not to get trampled by Sagewhisper's kits. They were almost the size of hopefuls.

Hazelleaf winced as Tigerkit swatted playfully at her face, claws unsheathed. "Careful!" she warned, before turning her face to me. "Yes? Oh, I see, Quietripple." Her expression was one of disproval. "I don't know."

Well, where is she? I suddenly felt cold. The last time I had seen her was back at the training arena. Stuck in the bush, literally.

Ignoring the busy stream of activity going on in the camp, I called out, "Jaggedfeather! I need you to check something!"

Silence. Feeling something pulse through my veins, I peeked outside the camp entrance. I didn't need him. This was going to be an adventure, and then I would emerge a hero.


	4. Sides

**Just so you know, the update schedule for this fanfic will be about one chapter every theee days or so.**

 **Wait, it's the eighth already? Nooo... You know what that means!**

* * *

Chapter 3

I padded out the camp entrance cautiously, sniffing the air as I went. Everyone was too busy doing something or another back in the clearing, so now, I was free to go and find Quietripple.

Seldom did birds sing in this marshy part of the forest, but I liked the quietness and the calmness of it all. Some of the clan would complain about getting their paws wet everyday after going to hunt or on a border patrol, but I didn't mind. Isn't it fortunate that so many sources of water are right by our camp?

I carefully picked my way through the tall-growing reeds with the setting sun descending behind me; a few flies buzzed around my face, and I kinked my tail over my head in a distracted manner to shoo them off. It all seemed so peaceful...

My first sign of trouble was nothing at all.

If a death could be silent yet slow, this was an example. I watched, horrified, frozen in place, as a soft hiss suddenly filled the air. "Sssoon... we will see that the world of warriors comes to a timely end... a new, better world will replace it, and oh, you will like it, I think..."

I peeked through the reeds, trying to stay low to the ground and painfully aware that my nose was sticking right out. I was too petrified to move it, however. I could see Quietripple leaned down against a short, stooped willow tree. The tendrils danced around her wildly as the tom in front of her- I could not recognize who it was- shook her hard and snarled, baring sharp white teeth.

Those teeth glinted golden in the fading sunlight, and as I watched, they slowly lowered to sink into a body that was cringing away-

"Stop!" I screeched, throwing myself out of the ferns. My heart was beating so hard I could feel it vibrating against my chest, and my paws were nearly half-frozen with terror. "Stop! Leave her alone!"

The tom did not seem to notice me despite my desperate screeches. His claws were sliding out all by themselves, and Quietripple hardly whimpered as teeth met fur... I turned around. I couldn't bear to see this, I was going to have to go back to the camp and report this, I will never ever leave someone behind again...

I stood there for quite a long time, hardly daring to breathe. I was aware of a slight itching on my nose, but I did not dare move until the sun was completely submerged below the horizon. Slowly, I forced myself to turn around.

The tom was gone. I trembled in place for a while longer, then padded forward a few uncertain steps. What would I find? Blood everywhere? When I sniffed reluctantly and found nothing but the stale smell of wild heather, I dared to take a peek on Quietripple's shoulder where the teeth had sunk themselves into.

Nothing. No wound, no blood, not even a faint outline of a scratch.

When I was sure that it was safe to check the rest of Quietripple's body and not find some horrific wound, the realization of it all dropped in my stomach like a heavy stone in water. She was dead, the murderer was nowhere to be found, and there was no sign of blood at all...

But she was definitely not alive anymore, that much was for certain. I placed a paw on the she-cat's chest, where her heart should have been beating away. Instead, there was a loud, sucking emptiness that made the silence even worse.

* * *

The light gray she-cat was not alone.

She could sense it in the air around her. There was a definite musky scent of cat, and after all, there was that voice, that voice whispering from the shadows and beckoning her forward... "What is this? Is this StarClan?" she demanded. "It does not seem any more cheery than the SunClan that I used to be taught about."

Fog drifted around her paws, moving swiftly and flying through until she felt dizzy. Shapes flitted from place to place, sometimes stopping to chatter a few un-audible words to her. But no one answered.

The she-cat began picking up her pace. "Spider..." the same voice whispered. It had to be the same one. It had the same airy tone with the strange sing-song way of speaking. "Where are you... I am waiting for you..."

Suddenly, a bad feeling settled in the pit of Spider's stomach. "I'm in the Dark Forest, am I not?" Her voice tightened and cracked. "I thought I did what StarClan told me to do. I killed everyone in LightClan. I killed Flutterpaw."

"You do not understand..." Shadowy forms condensed until she could see the sad glowing pale eyes of a see-through she-cat in front of her. "This is not StarClan nor the Dark Forest. In fact, StarClan is too preoccupied with _setting things right_ to care about what's right in front of their noses."

"What do you mean?" Spider growled, her claws unsheathing. "I do not like things to be kept from me."

The misty she-cat padded towards me. "You see, we are the ones that have lost all hope in the dead and the living world alike. This is where cats go, just before they fade away. Some special ones are reincarnated, but I don't see why StarClan keeps playing favorites." She snarled.

Spider felt her paws freeze to the ground. "What? I just died! How am I fading already?"

"Foolish kit..." Her eyes seemed hollow, empty, rid of all life that once filled them. "I have watched generations over generations waste by. I have watched as cats suffer, yet StarClan pretends to not care and cast them off to be forever rogues. I do not speak for the Dark Forest. This is simply the truth."

Spider suddenly felt extremely dizzy. "How... how old are you, really?"

"I forget," she sighed. "These things do slip from my mind once in a while... and sometimes, upon arrival, cats sleep and do not wake until it is their time to fade. But if you are truly a new spirit, which I doubt, then there must have been a reason for this. Someday, when I remember my age once more, I will tell you."

Her voice appeared to be getting smaller. "Someday..." She seemed to shrink back, and Spider could only watch in horror as she seemed to sink right into the ground and disappear.

* * *

 **The death of a spirit.**


	5. Living Dead

**To tell you the truth, I actually really like the Spider cutscene in the last chapter. It really gave me the feels.**

 **From now on, for almost every single chapter, there will be about 500-800 or so words of story from Cedarpaw's perspective, but the rest will be some special scene- what happened to the rest of the LightClan cats, where Creekstar and Leaf and maybe even Mistflame ended up, or something from our old friend, Spider.**

* * *

Chapter 4

"She needs help!" I called out as I neared the corner of a thick patch of ferns to where an empty camp lay. "Please!" I raised my voice, looking left and right as if someone could possibly hear me now. "Quietripple is badly injured! Roseshade, come on!"

No one answered. Well, of course they would be all gone now, I thought dryly as I dragged the limp body of Quietripple into the small clearing which used to be our camp. My mind was clouded, as if I had just been woken rudely from a deep sleep, but as I began to analyze the facts, my heart began to sink lower and lower until I could feel it bumping against my stomach.

Where was I going to go now?

They couldn't possibly have abandoned me, I reassured myself silently. They wouldn't have left behind any cat, let alone a new apprentice who was the son of one of the most respected toms in the clan. But as I sat and waited and nothing happened, I began to lose hope. How was I supposed to cope now?

Panic was starting to squeeze at my throat, but I chased it away with a couple of deep breaths. Right. Panicking was not going to do me any favors now. Ravenflight had quite a reputation for managing to stay calm in practically any situation- which made him appointed as director many times, so I had to live up to his image.

First, I began digging a small ditch in the ground, but the increasingly hard leaf-fall soil, which was getting encrusted with frost, was hard to sink my claws into and it took a long time for me to make out a hole big enough to bury or even cover Quietripple in. Slowly, I nudged her body towards the gaping dimple. Her paws flopped in first, and soon, the rest of her tail and head followed.

Her large, unblinking eyes were starting to creep me out, so I quickly settled on some loose dirt and dried bracken and began covering her body with the stuff. Her tail disappeared first, then I began working my way up. Soon, her head, which rested on a crevice in the hole that I dug, was all that was left.

I moved my paws to finish burying her, but it was just then that her eyes _glowed._

The patch of soil where her hind legs were under also seemed to move a little, but I didn't put too much thought into that because as soon as her cold blue eyes began turning a warm shade of orange, I yelped and leaped back. I stood there for quite a long time, staring, heart pounding wildly. "Q- Quietripple?" I whispered, fearing that I might have buried her alive.

I waited. Nothing further happened; after cautiously prodding her forehead with a single claw to make sure that perhaps, it was only in my imagination, I stuffed a pile of dead ferns onto Quietripple's neck and shoulders and finally, her head until all that could be seen was a strangely-shaped mound of dirt and plants.

I didn't stand around for anything else to happen. The first moment that I could, I spun around, hind legs bunched up, ready to run, but before I could, a soft voice greeted me from behind.

"You may make our comrades fade away into nothing, but you cannot kill everyone that you know," it hissed. I turned around slowly, terrified of what I would find. The pile of soil was still standing there, undisturbed, but right in front of me stood Quietripple, gleaming amber eyes and all.

Not blue eyes; amber.

* * *

Mistflame wandered through the swamps and waded through puddles, shivering slightly from the cold, even with her thick protective coat. She had been cooped up in that Twolegplace for too long. Now, she was ready.

However, the wind was certainly not helping. It was making her regret her choice; it was so warm inside the house... couldn't she have waited until newleaf, at least? But she couldn't go back now, not when she had already trekked for so long...

Spoiled, priveliged, whiny brat, she remembered her mother calling her. That memory seemed a lifetime ago, yet it stuck in her memory. Too weak to do anything and too lazy to even try. Mistflame gritted her teeth.

Shut up, just shut up, she thought to herself, as if Quietripple could hear her now. Her mother didn't look the part, but she was almost as old as an elder now. In the moons that they haven't seen each other, Mistflame had grown a lot smarter.

For one, she knew that she certainly wasn't a special snowflake anymore.

But RiverClan was her home, and she was determined to get there, even if the cats living there weren't going to like it.

Stepping into a shaded forest, for which she was relieved for, she could begin to hear somecat- no, two cats- tromping through the undergrowth about a few fox-lengths away from her and arguing loudly amongst themselves. For StarClan's sake, she thought crossly, couldn't they make less noise?

"Shut up, Creekstar," the first cat, an aged tom, hissed. "Everyone in a territory's distance will hear us. You know how nosy that Glowkit is."

"Glowpaw," Creekstar corrected irratibly with a flick of his tail. Mistflame crouched low, hoping that the cats were as careless as they were loud. "It was necessary. I suppose you know where you're going, Leaf?"

Leaf grinned. "I would think so. Ever heard of RiverClan? Yeah, didn't think so."

Mistflame's heart skipped a beat. Strangers in _her_ RiverClan? She unsheathed her claws, softly hissing. Tensing up her hind legs, she focused her gaze on the passing cats and leaped into the air.


	6. Spirits

**Thank you all for the follows and favorites, it really helped me want to continue writing the next chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 5

I wanted to scream, but somehow, I managed to keep in the emotion and the fear and the sheer surprise from exploding out. Quietripple- it couldn't be her behind those dark amber eyes- growled and took a step further. I shuddered. "Wh... who-"

"You don't know me," she whispered. "You never saw me. Shhh..." Her words sounded hyptonizing, and I found myself actively trying to look away from her eyes. "One word gets out, and I'll make sure you pay..."

I forced myself to look tough. I wanted my claws to unsheath, but I found that my entire body was rigid with terror. "You c- can't m- make me do anything," I finally replied. "Even if you are... are..." I suddenly found that my mind was the only thing left not frozen. "Even if you are a spirit."

"You catch on fast," Quietripple purred. "I can't, hm? That's right. But I do have your friend here, and after all, you are living, too. Which means..." she paused, as if waiting for me to answer.

I shook my head numbly. "No, she's dead." I wanted my paws to move, but it was like I was stuck or something.

"I knew it. Foolish young kits," Quietripple muttered under her breath. It smelled like holly. "She is not dead, even though she may have come close to it." Her nose quivered. "I have the power to borrow her anytime I want, kit, and that means you, too. I can turn into my true self, kill Quietripple, and replace her with you."

"So..." I struggled to understand. "If you're so much more powerful in your spirit form, then why would you bother with..."

Quietripple snarled. "Spirit forms do not last forever in the living world, fool! I grow tired of talk!" She took a step backwards. "Go find your pitiful clan," she continued, her voice softer this time. "To the far plains on the south, for there they are heading."

I opened my mouth to interrupt, but Quietripple was faster: "But just remember, I will always be there for you..."

Suddenly, my paws felt as if they were suddenly un-frozen and pattered uselessly on the ground for a few moments before finding their running positions. "To the south!" Quietripple called out, but I was already turning in that direction. To the plains...

I began running, kicking up dust.

Behind me, I felt a sudden weight being lifted off of my shoulders, and perhaps I wasn't shivering quite as much anymore. Spirits do leave an impression on you, I thought.

* * *

By the end of sundown, it was almost completely dark and I had no idea where I was.

I was picking up my clanmates' scents, but mostly they were just confusing and mish-mashing and all over the place. I could only follow them as best I could- they must find a place to lodge for the night, I thought.

Sure enough, after many more minutes of trekking through the night, I could begin to hear some kind of commotion nearby. I couldn't tell where they were exactly, though, and so I had to rely on my senses to find direction until _something_ tapped me on the shoulder.

I jumped, expecting to find those amber eyes of Quietripple before me once again, but it was nothing more than the concerned face of Jaggedfeather. "Cedarpaw!" he hissed. "Where have you been?"

"Out," I replied simply. "Where's the camp?"

"Down that field of heather. In this dimple in the ground." I shuddered when I thought of another hole, and perhaps more possessed cats to greet me, but Jaggedfeather didn't seem to notice.

Right as cat-shaped shadows thickened in front of me, I stopped with my mentor alongside me. I couldn't help but grimace, but relaxed as soon as I realized that it was no more than Stormwing. "Cedarpaw!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm back," I said, resisting a sigh. "Where is my nest..." Then, suddenly remembering the occurrence with Quietripple, I added, "I was out to find her, but... I'm afraid she may have been lost." I hung my head. "Sorry, I tried my best." Stupid lies.

Stormwing's eyes widened. "I'm glad to tell you that you are wrong. In fact, Quietripple returned about half an hour ago. We were all worried." He turned around. "Quietripple! Come out of there! Someone's been looking for you."

What? I stared intently at the camp in silence, until finally, a frond of ferns parted to reveal the same she-cat that I had been searching for and was even possessed by an evil spirit- I searched for glowing amber eyes in the gloom, but all I could see was the icy blue of her original color. "Yes?" she asked coolly.

I took a step back. "N-nothing." How could this be real? Unless that spirit was making empty threats... I shook my head numbly, as if shaking off what I was seeing. "I- I think I need a break. Get some fresh air. Be right back for dinner."

I didn't wait for Stormwing or Jaggedfeather's approval.

* * *

I found a patch of earth, just out of sight of the camp, and far enough so that they could not hear me, either.

Staring up at the night sky, dotted with countless stars, I began to worry. Was that a spirit from StarClan? But the legends that surrounded them never seemed to have any trace of evil in them... but perhaps they were wrong. I raised my head up.

"If you are there, explain yourself!" I shouted, heart pounding. No reply. I waited for who-knows-what to happen, and nothing happened. "Now!"

Still nothing. I began to worry. Was the whole thing really just an empty threat? But as I thought more about it, what was the spirit's goal in the first place? Did Quietripple know what had happened to her?

Nothing stirred in the night air. I turned around, shifting in my place. It was getting really cold, and dark, and I didn't want to be out here while evil spirits were around...

So I stood up, brushed the loose dirt out of my pelt, and began running in the direction of the camp. I kept looking up to see if there was an answer, but still, nothing moved. When I burst through the clumsily-made ivy entrance that our camp was sheltered behind, I called out for Stormwing.

"Stormwing! I need to talk to you about something!" I shouted.

Moments later, his shaggy gray head appeared through the entrance of his den. "Yes?" He began padding out to meet me. Something told me that he wasn't in the best mood for late-night talks, so I had to get this over fast.

"Stormwing," I began slowly. He watched me with interest. "Have you ever heard of spiri-"

I froze. Something seemed to be digging into my back. I tried to swing my head around to see, but I couldn't move. There was no pain, just a piercing, burning, icy-cold sensation concentrated on a single point. I heard voices, but I had to strain to understand what they were saying.

Then it was over. "I am sorry for disturbing you. It is nothing," I found myself saying. "I will go back to my own den now."


	7. Moons

**This time, there will be very little of Cedarpaw, and a whole lot of a special guest we have here today... *flashes grin* From LightClan. Three guesses on who it is. One... two... three.**

* * *

Chapter 6

Stormwing looked both confused and irritated at the same time, but he just said, "Then go get some sleep, for Jaggedfeather says that he will work with you on battle training tomorrow" before turning around and disappearing back into his small den.

Fog was clouding my eyes. Panic was rising up inside my throat, and it felt like I was being suffocated. I couldn't see anything, I couldn't open my mouth, and I felt like I was being held down in all directions, even though the steady pit-pat of my paws on the earth below told me that I was moving around.

There were sing-song voices inside of my head, too. I tried to block them out, but it was almost like they were coming at me from everywhere all at once. "I will find you, my dear..."

Shuffling of paws on the ground. Darkness everywhere. I couldn't see, feel, or much of anything. "I'm coming for you... I will hold you in tight embraces once again... Daddy is coming home..."

I tried to shiver. This was getting creepy. "I'm coming home to little Quietripple..."

* * *

The motherless, fatherless, and apprentice-less mentor was crying.

Brightpool hadn't had a chance to escape from LightClan. Every she knew did. Of course she was the unlucky one. She turned, sniffing; and now she was stuck here. Crying and being helpless.

Shadows flitted into life in front of her, then thickened as who-knows-who began coming through the dark tunnel that she was in. Brightpool stiffened, but she couldn't bring her claws to unsheath. Perhaps...

Two unfamiliar cats stood in front of her, a tom and a she-cat. The she-cat was colored a strange shade of reddish-brown, one that she had never seen as a pelt color before. "Everyone's gone," Brightpool whispered.

The she-cat was considerably young, and she took a step backwards. "I'll leave you now."

"Thank you, Scream," the tom rumbled. "Now get out of here." He glared at the light brown she-cat, and she quickly scurried out of the cave with no further words.

It was silent once more.

Brightpool felt as if she should have said something. "Where am I?" she demanded. "Is this SunClan?" Even so, she doubted it. The whole place was dark, and a dank smell hung in the air. Where was all the sunine and life that she had been taught about?

The tom studied her in an amused manner. "Do you still think that SunClan exists?" He shook his head sadly as Brightpool stared with disbelief. "I thought since you were the medicine cat... you would know the truth."

To be honest, she had thought about it before. But she was so afraid of provoking the anger of Creekstar- and possibly the whole of SunClan- that she hadn't said anything.

"Well... I guess," Brightpool retorted. "But really, where am I?"

"The Moonstone," the tom replied. When she looked confused, he added, "the place where the ancient four Clans of the forest used to go to consult advice from their warrior ancestors."

Brightpool sniffed. "But they're not SunClan."

"No," the tom assured. "They're not. Strange that they lost the trust of StarClan as well." His mouth curled up slightly in a sneer. "But only one of the warrior ancestors that the living seem to depend on for so much, and one that has stood unchallenged for all this time-" he smiled- "is the Dark Forest."

"The Dark Side of the Moon," Brightpool whispered. It was all she could say.

The tom's smile grew larger. "Hm, as LightClan would say it, perhaps. But before we get too out of paw with the topic..." He tilted his head to the right side. "Let's get out our names, shall we? My name is Coconut."

Brightpool nearly choked while trying hard not to laugh. "I'm... Brightpool. But-"

"Twolegs gave that name to me," Coconut growled. "Stupid cat-trappers... they wouldn't let me go for such a long time. So I had to play the victim: earned their trust for me to go out alone without running off."

Catching Brightpool's confused expression, he added, "I suppose that you don't know what Twolegs are, either. Basically, large, tall, pink monsters that stand on two legs and wear colorful pelts."

That sounded like the stuff of nightmares to the former Storm-Calmer. "So where are we going with this conversation?" she asked, stiffening as she said the words and her words hardening.

Coconut's green eyes gleamed. "Things of interest. Things... about the Dark Forest." He sighed. "So many terrible rumors... so little truth. They say we are horrible cats with hearts of stone, and that we are out to destroy everyone that stands in our way."

Brightpool growled deep in her throat. "That's exactly what they are."

"No, no," he tried again. "There may be villains, traitors, and heart-broken lovers among us, but we all have one thing in common." Coconut smiled. "We were all past dreamers."

"We dreamed of a perfect world, only to have everything taken from us. We dreamed of a place where we didn't have to constantly prove ourself, yet we are ignored. We dreamed of a time when we will finally be content with ourselves. But it never came."

Self-esteem doesn't come from others, it comes from deep within yourself, Brightpool wanted to say, but her mouth was so caked with the tears that dripped down her check that she couldn't even bother to stutter.

Coconut knew that he was winning. "So... will you join us?" When Brightpool stared at him blankly, he added, "to form a perfect world without mistakes? Where the best can be said of everyone? When peace and order is restored once more?"

She stared. Then, without further hesitation, she leaned forward and rested her head in his chest. "With my life."

* * *

 **History repeats. Wasn't that almost the same thing that Cliff-Fall said to Glowpaw?**


	8. Healers

**Since in the last book, Song of the Shadows: Losing Myself, it kind of turned out to be more about a family feud than actual enemies and a concentrated purpose... that's the reason that I'm spending so much time writing about the Dark Forest in its sequel here, because that's going to be the main focus of the entire series as a whole.**

* * *

Chapter 7

What? The spirit was Quietripple's father?

I tried more than ever to break out of its grasp, but soon gave up. Forget it all. I could barely breathe in here- or was I even supposed to breathe? Consciousnesses are just... there. They don't breathe or sleep or eat or anything...

Then a more pressing issue entered my mind: how long was this going to last? Was I seriously going to be stuck as a mere consciousness for the rest of my life? The voices inside my head- the head that they now possessed- had stopped, but that didn't mean anything...

Suddenly, a stream of cold air hit me right in the face, and I stumbled, nearly falling down. Stumbled? Falling down? I could move again? What was going on? Disoriented shapes flew in and out of focus in front of me. Was the spirit leaving me?

I was still dizzy, but I managed to hold on to dear life, consciousness, sight, something that would prevent me from losing it. I also might have been just imagining it, but a dark form seemed to fly past my right ear, hissing, "That was a warning strike..."

"Cedarpaw!"

Slowly, shape and color combined to create the image of the cat that was standing right before me. "Cedarpaw!" I tried to rub my eyes. Stand up. Get the dizziness and the pounding out of my head. "Cedarpaw!"

"I'm fine," I muttered, not sure if I was actually saying the words or if I was just repeating them to myself in my head. Fortunately, the gray face that loomed in front of me looked relieved, and I decided that it was the first. Which meant...

"I'm back to myself." My vision was still blurry, but if I concentrated enough, I could see the hopeful's glowing orange eyes and the small pink nose. "Who is it, again?" I struggled to remember anything.

"Brightpaw." The tom seemed concerned- with a hint of offense slipping into it. "You don't even remember my name? Should I get you to Roseshade?"

"I'm fine," I insisted, the bluriness swept away as my strength returned. Painstakingly, I began crawling back to all fours. "I'm just really tired." I didn't see any reason to tell the truth anymore.

Brightpaw shook his head. "Whatever. Just get some nice, long sleep tonight. We're going on the dawn patrol tomorrow, so..."

Dawn patrols? I sighed. "Sure." Toddling like an age-old elder, I curled up tightly into the small moss-and-bracken nest that I was given, willing my eyes to close and never open again until morning broke. Go away, spirit, I tWhathought drowsily. Go away...

* * *

The blue-gray she-cat was getting increasingly impatient. "I think we should say something to Roseshade," she hissed.

Brightpaw shrugged. "Cedarpaw did say not to tell her. But fine." He straightened his head. "If you're determined, then fine. Just know that it won't be my fault when he gets mad at me in the morning."

"If we're being careful," Icepaw insisted, "then he won't even know." She smiled. "Then perhaps we'll save his life or something." Turning around and glaring at her littermate, she added, "Come on!"

Brightpaw had to choice but to follow, so he sighed and began trailing his sister as they sneaked through the camp at nearly midnight. No one was out at this time of the night, so it was more than easy to trek the few fox-lengths from the hopefuls' den to the healers'.

"Roseshade?" Icepaw called out cautiously. No one liked to wake a healer that was deep in sleep. When no one replied, she peeked inside the den; there, the reddish-brown she-cat curled up inside her soft willow nest.

"Roseshade!" Brightpaw hissed quietly. "We need to tell you something!"

The healer stirred in her bed for a few moments, then finally, her head rose and her warm amber eyes rested on Brightpaw's. "What?" she snapped. "This better be good. Is someone going to die?"

"Sort of," Icepaw replied, "according to Brightpaw-" she shot him a dirty look- "Cedarpaw was acting strange when he walked into the den this evening. He sort of toppled over and couldn't remember his name." She took a deep breath.

"We're both worried about him..."

Roseshade muttered under her breath something about having too much catmint. "Tiredness. Occurs in young cats a lot. Get back to sleep. I have work to do tomorrow, Jaggedfeather's paw is hurting again..."

"No, wait," Brightpaw tried again, feeling desperate for some reason. "He also said something about getting back to himself."

Silence. Roseshade glowered at both of the littermates silently. "Excuse me?" Brushing off her pelt and unstabling a pile of marigold, she stumbled out of the den past the hopefuls' bewildered faces. "Excuse me?"

Icepaw suddenly felt as if she shouldn't have come here. "No, it's fine, Roseshade-"

Roseshade spun around. "Brightpaw," she just said in a commanding voice, "go get Cedarpaw right now. I need to talk to him about something. In private." She glared at Icepaw, who shrank away under her gaze.

Brightpaw nodded numbly. "I- I will," he promised, before stepping backwards into the shadows of the hopefuls' den. He tripped over his own nest and nearly smashed into one of the thick walls before finally finding the sleeping shape of Cedarpaw.

"Cedarpaw!" he hissed. "Get up!"

The dark brown tom shifted and turned in his sleep. "Roseshade wants to see you!" Brightpaw continued, prodding his shoulder slightly with a paw. "It's important! It's about your health!"

Slowly, Cedarpaw began to show signs of waking. "I don't wanna..." he sighed. "It's midnight."

Just as Brightpaw was about to give up, Roseshade stomped into the den and shoved him away forcefully. "Cedarpaw! Now!" she commanded. "These two nice friends are worried about you."

"I'm coming..." Cedarpaw muttered, sitting up. "Just a moment."

* * *

 **What is it about medicine cats that I keep involving them in my stories?**


	9. Scared Mice

**My goal for this story is to get around 3 favorites and 4 follows or so. Sequels usually get, like, half of the stuff they get on the first book...**

* * *

Chapter 8

I followed the grumpy-looking healer out to the clearing, where she led me out to a side track where wild daisies overgrew the trail. "So we can have some privacy," she grumbled. "Now, tell me. What's all this about being yourself again?"

I knew that I couldn't say anything, so instead I just shook my head no. "It's private. I can't tell you."

"Oh, come on, I'm your healer," Roseshade insisted. "I will keep it a secret, I promise." Her gaze fell to the ground below. "Look, if it makes you feel any better... then I have a place to show you. It might make your emotional stress go away."

But the spirit won't, no matter what you do, I wanted to say, but instead just nodded numbly and began following her down the twisted trail. I had never been in this part of the territory before, and I was a little more than nervous. "Where are we going?" I asked her.

Roseshade didn't reply until we reached a grassy clearing, now hard to see in the darkness. It was filled with various ferns and shrubs, and as I sniffed, many different prey-scents traveled through the air. "It's a great clearing," I said. "There's lots to hunt here. Plus lots of herbs," I added, thinking of her status in the clan.

Roseshade purred, which I was surprised at, since she almost never smiled. "This clearing saved lives, Cedarpaw, and it was all because of an accident."

"Oh," I replied, not sure if I was interested or not. "That's... nice. What happened again?"

Roseshade sighed. "I remember when there was a great epidemic that spread through RiverClan. Sometimes we move back into a camp that we have been in before. " I stiffened when she said the word- no one referred to ourselves as RiverClan anymore. "Greencough, as it was called. Irregular breathing, wheezing, fever..." she began listing off the symptoms. "No herb available worked on it."

"Then one day, I was trying to find some burdock root- some poor cat had gotten a nasty rat bite from an abandoned Twoleg den near here the other day- when I stumbled upon this as well." She looked rather pleased of herself. "Catmint, or catnip, whichever fits. It rarely grows in the wild, and usually grows in Twoleg gardens. Rather convenient."

"So this is that Twoleg garden," I gathered. "That's a... nice story, Roseshade."

Roseshade pursed her mouth disapprovingly. "Nice? It saved lives. But that's not what I got you here to talk about." Looking deep into my eyes, which I found uncomfortable, she asked in a low voice, "What has been troubling you recently?"

I decided that trying to hide anything was pointless. "I would tell you, but I'm not allowed to."

"I see," Roseshade murmured. "Something tell me there's more to it than just that." She turned around so that her back was facing me and her eyes were trained on the field of ferns. "Sometimes, wisdom is essential."

Oh no, I thought, elderly wisdom. I always hated those I-know-more-than-you-so-shut-up-and-listen talks.

However, what she said surprised me. "I don't know what you're thinking, but there are no coincidences in life. Things happen for a reason, or else they wouldn't have happened at all. They affect you in some way. Just keep that in mind."

I nodded, waiting for her to go on, but she just swished her short, bushy tail around my shoulders and said, "Come on. It's time for you to get some sleep."

* * *

The mouse was within reach. I could see its quivering whiskers, its tiny paws pattering on the ground and beady eyes searching for whatever morsel it could find. Close.

My paws were hardly making a sound, either. I stalked forward, belly low, tail not sweeping the ground, eyes alert, muscles tense. Just another step and then I could safely pounce...

It sat up, frozen still. What? There was no twig, no bracken, not even a spring of coiled-up dried fern, nothing to disturb the creature that was now scurrying away quickly on its four nimble legs... although I did hear something move. How?

But it was definitely gone now. I sniffed the air; it had to be around here somewhere. Padding quietly forward, I could smell the faint trail of where the mouse had darted off in such a hurry. Still, there was little chance that I would find it again...

Shadows thickened in front of me. I froze as well. "Who's there?"

There came a snickering, and three small bundles of fur came crashing out and pounced, shrieking and clawing with their tiny claws and bringing me down to the ground with their combined weight. "I submit!" I gasped.

The largest of the three, a dark orange tom with his long tabby stripes, grinned at me through his mischievous blue eyes. "Gotcha!" he announced. "TigerClan for the win!"

"I never get a chance to show off StoneClan," a light gray she-kit beside him complained. "I bet I can fight better than both of you." She unsheathed her claws, and I couldn't help but wince a little. "They should make me a Hunter, too."

Suddenly, realization dawned onto me. "You three are not supposed to be out here, scaring prey with your badger-like steps!" I hissed. "Get back to the camp, now."

"Well, what are you doing out here, anyway?" The smallest of the three kits, a tortoiseshell tom asked, staring at me with his two round green eyes. "I don't see or scent Jaggedfeather here anywhere around this place."

That bit was true. "I'm out for a little independent hunting," I replied. "My mentor's orders. Get back to the camp, all of you!"

Stonekit glared at me. "No! StoneClan is not going to fail in their tasks another time!" Ignoring Tigerkit's protesting meows, she whirled around and began scurrying away into the forest. I tried to catch her, but her siblings blocked my path.

"Let me go!" I hissed, before both Tigerkit and Frogkit hurried off after their sister. I sighed. "Fine! Make it that way!"

I followed, trekking through the treacherous undergrowth. Pine needles stabbed my paw pads, and occasional thorns pricked my sides, but I was not about to let go of three kits that easily. I could hear squealing coming from beyond. Not long now...

Just as I burst through several thick willow tendrils hanging from the top of a branch, I found myself in a small meadow. Something about it seemed familiar, but I couldn't tell what; and where were the kits, anyway?

Out of the blue, I heard shrill screams.

* * *

 **What do you think happened?**


	10. Marsh

**What happened to the kits? Was it a badger or a fox or an invading rogue? NONE OF THOSE, ha ha ha! It wasn't a Dark Forest or StarClan spirit either. You will just have to wait and see...**

* * *

Chapter 9

I raced across the meadow as fast as I could, not even smelling the distinctive scene of catmint that was coming from seemingly everywhere all at once. "Where are you?" I called out, trying not to panic through my fast heartbeats. Where were they?

I couldn't see the kits anywhere, but their distressed calls were distinct to my ears. Blindly rushing around in a panic, I managed to stop and slow myself down. Blood was rushing through my ears. Images of badgers, foxes, even loners and rogues or maybe a fierce kittypet or two ran through my mind. What was it that I couldn't see them?

Then, the screaming subsided. Fearing the worst, I pushed all worries to the back of my mind and focused on finding my way around. There was a faint tint of Tigerkit to my left where a large marsh lay beyond, and his sibling's scents were interlaced with his own. Jogging through the lush tall reeds, I leaped on top of a fallen tree branch.

There was nothing. Nothing to suggest that the kits had gone anywhere. But how could they just disappear like that? Knowing that I had to find out, I began padding cautiously forward. Squish, splat, squish. The ground was soft beneath my pads, and sometimes they sank deeply beneath my weight. Cold shudders ran through my spine. What if...?

I barely had a chance to breath before the earth totally gave way beneath my feet.

My paws became entirely submerged under the smelly, moist swamp ground. Struggling to keep my head out and above, I wheezed for air just as my flank disappeared, too. I couldn't keep this up forever. I couldn't move my paws or even feel them in the cold, damp earth. But if the kits had gone this way...

I attempted to thrash around my front paws, which were not completely immobilized yet, but to little result before I could feel a cold mixture of water, soil, sand, and some other organic materials I would rather not think about rising up to where my neck was. Or, I was _sinking_. I gulped in air as much as I could, but what good was that going to do?

I was going down either way.

Suddenly, slush met my nose, mouth, eyes, ears, and whatever opening they could find, and started pouring in and making my face as painful to feel as possible. Thankfully, I could hardly feel anyway. I was silently contemplating how long it would take for me to suffocate, but just as my lungs were starting to hurt, cold _air_ met my hind legs and I fell.

It must have been only a few fox-lengths from where I was before, but it felt like an eternity to me- probably because I really needed some air. Damp, but non-slushy (thank goodness) earth kissed my cheek and my side flank, and I crumpled to the ground in a collapsed heap. I heard excited squealing beside me. Was I dead...?

"Cedarpaw! Cedarpaw!" It took a while for my eyes to adjust; above me, the scared faces of three kits stared back at me, clinging on to me tightly with their tiny paws, and I brushed them off lightly. "Get off of me," I muttered, blinking at the scene in front- or rather, above me.

The ceiling was not extremely far off from the ground, so I could still see the rotten-looking slush hanging from the top like stalactites. Everything felt damp in this place: the walls, the ground, even the air that I was breathing. "You all fine?" I asked, still wheezing for my breath.

No kit responded. I thought that they, especially Stonekit, would be eager to share 'news' about their bravery and how they got in here while totally not being scared at all, but instead, they just stared back at me with a blank gaze.

Suddenly, I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Standing off and brushing the dust off from my dark brown pelt, I stared at the remnants of a cat who once lived.

There was no blood, no flesh, either. Only bone. Only a skeleton of what it used to be. Staring up along the length of the long underground tunnel that we were now in, I felt a tremor of fear and pressed closer to the three kits. More bones. More death. More emptiness.

 _There are no accidents._ Roseshade's words rang in my mind like thunder booming.

* * *

Spider was wrong in her thoughts. There were more of them, more than she could ever count.

She had thought that they were only some unusually thick fog before, but now, when she stared closer, she could make out, above anything, their two dull eyes, some round, some squinted, some amber and some blue. But they were all barely see-through and all empty of life that once filled them.

One extremely agitated-looking spirit paused in her muttered rants to look Spider in the eye. "I need to talk with my sister," she moaned. "Have you seen my sister anywhere?" When Spider shook her head, she added, "I have been searching for her... for a thousand moons..."

"Pipe down, youngling," another spirit scowled, barely visible. With a jolt, she realized that he or she must have been dead for at least a couple thousand moons. "Listen to your elders... I was defeated by Hiss himself. I would have been almost proud if the death of my world didn't follow soon after..."

It must be a she, Spider thought. " 'Once I felt the sun on my fur, but nothing was real without her...' " The spirit rambled on.

Spider twitched her paws nervously on the ground. She didn't know if it was better to talk to the old she-cat or just pretend she didn't exist. "That's nice," she said slowly. "Did you mother sing it to you or something?"

"No," the spirit sighed. "It was what Hiss said right before I died. My vision was blurry, everything else was blurry, but I heard him say these words."

* * *

 **Random note: sing the words to the tune of Scarborough Fair... I kind of used the number of syllables and stuff and I thought it was a nice, slow song, although it didn't really work out with the lyrics I made up in a hurry.**

 ** Just for reference, a thousand months is about 83 years.**

 **I also feel hesitant about telling you this, but: the name Hiss is going to appear quite a lot in this book and the next ones. It's not just a random name that I made up for a random spirit's past memories and ramblings.**


	11. Tunnels

**Well... I just violated my own three-day-update policy by being lazy and doing stuff on forums instead of writing Chapter 10! But here it is.**

* * *

Chapter 10

Oh no, little kittens, I wanted to say, this is nothing but a dream; a very scary dream that will probably traumatize you for the rest of your lives, you got that part right, but still a dream. You will wake up and those scary skeletons will just poof, disappear!

But even I had trouble convincing _myself_ that, so as the three kits huddled around my front legs, I found myself muttering to myself, "Oh no, little Cedarpaw, this is nothing but a dream; a very scary dream that will probably traumatize you for the rest of your lives, you got that part right, but still a dream. You will wake up and those scary skeletons will just poof, disappear!"

"Cedarpaw..." Tigerkit meowed, clear fear in his tone. "What are those things?"

I could hardly move before, but at the sound of another cat's reassuring voice- even it was edged by terror- I found the courage to open my mouth and reply, slowly, "Those are dead cats, Tigerkit. Remains of who they used to be."

 _Isn't it artistic?_ a voice seemed to whisper from the depths of the tunnel.

I was already shivering badly, but as we four cats- kits and hopefuls alike- huddled together for our lives, I decided that I had to play the big brother for once. "We're- we're gonna see if there's a way out if we keep going through there," I said, flicking my tail down the passageway.

Stonekit was the first to bound off, with more caution than usual. I followed closely behind, feeling guilty that I was letting a kit be in front and take all the damage if anything suddenly jumped out at us. "Here, I'll take the lead," I insisted, and when she shrugged, I stepped into her place and heard a splintering sound.

I froze, immediately thinking that I had accidentally crushed one of Stonekit's fragile legs or tail or something, but when I looked at her, she was staring down at something. There were several bones, none of them seeming to be connected with any others.

"Prey bones," Frogkit muttered as he padded forward. I nearly jumped; I had almost forgot that the small tortoiseshell tom was there. "This must have been a whole camp, and now... everything's gone."

"They weren't gone," I reassured the tiny kit. "They just..." I shuddered. "They went off to a better place."

Frogkit glowered at me silently. "You mean they all died." His voice grew, and I realized that he was even more upset than the others. "They were just gone, and there's no one left to care for them or die for them."

Suddenly, I remembered Roseshade's words. What had she said to me on that starry night? "There is no such thing as an accident," I murmured. "We will find out the cause of this together. What happened, who caused this... and who died."

Privately, I was thinking that we should find a way out of this creepy tunnel first and worry about dead cat later, but already, Frogkit's face was brightening a little- at least, it wasn't as shadowed anymore.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"Let's keep going!" Stonekit's voice rang out from beyond, sounding impatient- and just a little scared. I nudged Tigerkit slightly. "Come on. We need to find a way out of this place," I said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

The voice moaned on through the tunnel, but only I seemed to hear it. _Who is my little daughter... come to me..._

* * *

Two minutes later, we found out that it was a dead end.

* * *

Sparrowchirp didn't know how long she ran, or for how long, or even where she was. She had never been out of LightClan territory before, so she was basically a lost, wandering kitten in the big, wide world.

It was nighttime, and she couldn't see a thing, so she finally collapsed onto the soft if slightly moist grass and ferns that grew plentifully along the ground. She thought she might have heard a strange thumping noise like faint footsteps below her, deep in the earth, but she put that thought to the back of her mind.

It would give her nightmares about wandering, restless, bloodthirsty spirits for moons on end.

She heard a lot of things in the night. Crickets chirping, the occasional owl hooting, some birds hopping from one tree branch to another... and a slight movement beyond that even she couldn't identify

Cat footsteps. Sparrowchirp's heart was pounding wildly in her chest. She stood up weakly, thinking she might recognize the figure if it appeared before her... but the cat that brushed through the undergrowth to reach her was the last one she'd expected.

She stared, unblinking, and yet, she both loved and hated the sight of that single cat that had made her life so complicated in so many different aspects. "Gl... Glowpaw, is that you?" Sparrowchirp croaked.

Sure enough, the same rounded eyes that she had grown so accustomed to looking at in the past few moons stared back at her. "Yes, mother," Glowpaw replied. "It is me."

"You've grown so... polite," Sparrowchirp frowned, "and what... oh dear, that looks like a very serious wound indeed." Her motherly instincts kicked in, despite herself, and she examined the large split right smack in the middle of Glowpaw's forehead.

Glowpaw shook her head, backing away. "Mother, I don't think you understand, but... I have somewhere that I want you to go. Eh, I mean... it is not safe here for you to wander around like this... just follow me. I know a good hiding place."

"Thank you," Sparrowchirp replied, feeling quite stunned. Perhaps her adopted daughter was better of a cat than she had previously thought.

She watched as Glowpaw disappeared into the woods. Not even asking how she had managed to find her in the whole, large forest. Then, feeling relief pour over her at the prospect of a safe shelter, she followed.

She did not ask why Glowpaw only slowed down every ten minutes to let Sparrowchirp see her. The rest of the time, she had to rely on scent. But she was saving her, after all.

* * *

 **Spirits can possess the dead, although it takes up more energy and it cannot last forever, so they have to reveal their true forms every once in a while. Poor (dead) Glowpaw...**


	12. Ferns

**I always make up stories as I go along (that was how the plot of Song of the Shadows came to be), but sometimes, I just feel stuck. But you can't get out of writer's block unless you just keep going, I guess, so here it is. Sorry if it feels like a filler chapter in any way...**

* * *

Chapter 11

 _Dead end._

I reached out with a single paw and felt the surface of the cold, damp earth that blocked our only passage to freedom; a big, dumb, stupid chunk of dirt.

" _Nooo!"_ I screeched, bringing my paw down repeatedly until it felt as if it would break- but it didn't. I probably would have sprained my foreleg if Stonekit hadn't gingerly reached out and placed her pad on the back of my paw.

I froze. Frogkit was staring at me with an unreadable expression, and Tigerkit seemed almost scared of my reaction. What was I doing, frightening these kits? Without hesitation, but slowly so that I wouldn't lose face, I removed my paws from the soil and crumbled down onto the floor in a heap.

I heard voices saying something in the back of my mind, and another one mixed in, too, but I couldn't differ the two of them from each other. I was... tired. Exhausted is an understatement. The floor was a wide, rushing river, and I was being carried on it down on a deep black tide.

* * *

The next time I woke up, it was still dark and I could barely see anything.

The kits weren't there, either. I was beginning to feel panic throb inside, like many claws gripping onto the core of my heart, but it soon subsided when my eyes started adjusting to the shadows and I heard voices call out to each other, somewhere that I couldn't see the speakers- real voices, not hallucinations.

"Tigerkit, Stonekit... Frogkit," I muttered, beginning to identify the voices with the face that owned them.

But as I waited and the murmurs grew louder, I couldn't see shadows thickening or even a shadow at all. Where were they?

Something floated through the moist air of the earthy room that I was in, and as my eyes finally picked up on the details- green, yellow and brown on one tip, drifting lazily around, I heard laughter and snickering and the three kits emerged, swatting at the uprooted fern that they were now chasing.

One idea clicked into life in my mind, but not quite, but I stood up on all fours almost immediately- if a little unsteadily- and began rushing toward the three small figures that I had come to know and love. "You're all safe!" I breathed, feeling relief course through my veins.

Stonekit yowled as Tigerkit swatted the fern away, but Frogkit just padded to my side, shaking his head. "They can't seem to understand that this is a serious situation," he muttered.

I froze. "Fern? Green? It was alive?" Careful to not let my claws unsheathe, I raked my paw across the air and caught the fern by its roots. Stonekit squealed something- "That's not fair!" but I was already bending down to examine it closer. I was right- the plant was _fresh._

"Where did you find this?" I asked, hardly daring to breathe.

Tigerkit held his head up high. "I'm not going to tell you until you give back our fresh-kill! Tigerstar will never surrender! Roar!" He whirled through the air, claws flashing, before finally tripping on a large pebble and falling to the ground, yowling. "I will never surren-"

Frogkit sighed. "If you keep going down that tunnel, then you will eventually come to two paths. Go to the right, and then, moss and ferns and even some tree roots grow... But why- oh!"

Finally catching on, he added, "We haven't explored every part of that tunnel as of right now... so there could be an opening in the ground. I'm not sure if there was sunlight, but there had to be. It's worth a try. I'm willing to try anything at this point."

* * *

I was afraid that it was going to be yet another dead end, but as we kept going, the moisture began disappearing from the air and I didn't feel quite as suffocated as when we first dropped through the quicksand.

"Look! I see sunlight!" Tigerkit squeaked, bounding ahead, his energy renewed, Stonekit leaping after him. ("That's not fair! You went ahead of me!") Frogkit, however, stayed by my side, and let in a huge breath as a clean gust of wind hit us square in the face.

"That feels so good," I gushed as I quickened my pace to catch up with the other kits. My felt was beginning to ruffle and lift in the slight breeze, and as I sped toward the cool air, pink and orange skies and a setting sun welcomed me back above the earth.

Tigerkit eventually had to stop sprinting, because he was starting to pant and Stonekit paused soon after him. We all watched, slowly padding out into the fresh air, as the last rays of the sun hit the ground before us.

Something floated past my head, out, out to the distant horizons. I turned around to see it, but disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared. But I knew it was there, because just before it was gone, I saw a flash of green in the corner of my eyes.

The fern was greeting us back home.

* * *

Brightpool sobbed for a long time. She didn't know when the tears finally stopped streaking down her face; all she knew was the comforting usher of Coconut, and the soft fur brushing against her muzzle.

When she finally dared to lift her head, something tickled her nose and she had to fight the urge to sneeze in Coconut's face. Spinning her head around to look at the new visitor, she found a small uprooted fern floating in the air. It hovered in the slight breeze for a moment, then fluttered down to the ground.

It was shredded in half. Split in two, and some kind of juice was trickling out of the leaves.

* * *

 **Fern symbolism. It couldn't get better, honestly.**


	13. Remnants

**The Magic Homing Fern... thanks for that comment. The Evil Magic Homing Fern, actually, as we will find out in this chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 12

Soon, we had made ourselves a small makeshift nest in the bottom of a fallen pine tree.

Tigerkit was eagerly bouncing around in the soft needle leaves (which weren't really soft, as he painfully found out a while later) while Stonekit chased me and Frogkit around and around, the two cats who were actually making an attempt to create the most comfortable and predator-proof den we could.

The sun was setting and it was increasingly dark, so I had to usher Stonekit inside to the small moss-and-bracken bed while Frogkit patiently began spreading cobweb onto the scratch that Tigerkit got from the pine needle leaves- where he found the cobweb, I had no idea.

"Settle in," I hissed to them, before ducking my head back under. Stonekit was already half asleep: her head was curled up in her fluffy tail in a resting position, with her paws tucked neatly under them.

Even though it was made in a hurry, I had to admit that we did spend a lot of effort on the den.

It seemed like an eternity before Frogkit finally managed to coax Tigerkit into the shade of the fallen pine tree. Branches overlapped with each other to create a sort of barrier, and for the first moment in a long time, I felt... safe. "Back?" I teased.

Tigerkit grunted, collapsing on top of Frogkit in a writhing pile of limbs and tails. "Mhm," he mumbled through a mouthful of fur.

* * *

I wasn't sure what I woke up for.

There was a slight breeze ruffling through our fur, a little cold at that, but other than that, no other movement could be sensed through the still night air. The three kits were all soundly asleep beside me in a bundle, and the moon shone with a silver sheen in the starless skies.

But I quickly found that I couldn't coax myself back to sleep, no matter how I twisted and turned in the soft moss nest. It wasn't cold, and it certainly wasn't hot either, but still, I felt the need to get up and take a midnight walk.

Ducking under the entrance of the protected den, I began padding slowly out to the wide, sweeping moors.

To either side were majestic mountains and canyons, and I suddenly felt awfully exposed in this desolate place. I had no idea how to get back to the clan, and I would have to both hunt for and defend four cats- three of which were helpless kits.

Maybe not entirely helpless, I decided, glancing back toward the den, trying to find three bundles of fur in its midst. They would be just fine if I left them alone for just a few moments... just long enough for me to catch my breath and satisfy myself...

I stared down at the ground. It was grainy and rocky, much unlike the soft, marshy earth that I was used to. Some grasses here and there, and then... a long line of ferns.

I began to follow the trail slowly, almost mesmerized. They were all fresh and green and looked as if they had just sprung up in late newleaf. This must have been where that other fern came from. So... natural.

Before I knew it, I found myself at the mouth of the tunnel that led to the underground.

I nearly sucked in a breath at the sight of the large, gaping entrance that led to somewhere far beyond the reaches of above; and to think about all those skeletons... somehow, I felt inclined to know, to question, even though I did know that the kits wouldn't be safe by themselves.

I headed in anyway, regardless of that tiny, nagging voice in the back of my head.

It was dark, and I could hardly see anything. When I reached the point where the moonlight could no longer freely shine in, I paused, turned around, and looked up at the small entrance hole to make sure that it was still there. I couldn't be sure of anything in this place.

When I was satisfied that I was not going to be trapped forever in the cave-like tunnel, I began taking small, cautious steps toward the inside. The belly of the beast was coming up, I thought.

Soon, when it became so increasingly dark that I couldn't see a claw-length in front of me, a light appeared before me.

It was just a small point- a small point of light and hope. One tiny pinprick. But it was so unnatural in this dark environment that I could hardly believe myself at first. But my eyes weren't deceiving me, and neither were my ears or nose or fur.

Because there was a quiet sense of chatter in the air, like ghostly invisible bats calling to each other, and even though there was no definite one scent, there was something off. I could almost _feel_ it, too.

That was before I realized that I was passing through a multitude of spirits.

Each had its own tiny aura, but together, the light was almost blinding. Now that I was searching for it, I could start to make out their faces and body and expressions; how they danced mournfully through the air. "Remnants of the ghost camp?" I muttered to myself, trembling slightly...

...and then something grabbed me.

I tried to scream, but nothing came out. It felt as if the air itself was pressed tightly against my mouth so that I could not make a sound. I struggled to to turn around, expecting to see a living corpse before me, but there was only transparent folds of light.

The clawhold on my hind leg tightened. I swatted at the empty air everywhere around me, but no matter what I did, I could not see- or shred- anything. Just as I was considering the choice of bolting for it- never mind the poor strands of fur that would fly off in all directions- I felt a strange feeling envelop me.

Peace.

I stopped struggling, despite the voice in the back of my mind telling me to _run_ ; and as I looked around in amazement at the sheer variety of the spirit cats around me, I felt a soft whisper in my ear-

"Welcome to the Cinders. How long are you staying?"

* * *

 **Next chapter: we find out that Cedarpaw is just having a giant drug trip and none of this actually happened!** **(I wish)**


	14. Times

**I've calculated a bit of stuff. I predict the end of this story at around Chapter 22, like Song of the Shadows. I know it's not my usual strategy when it comes to writing stories, but I've loosely planned out what to write for each chapter (like two sentences a chapter) so it stops at around that point.**

 **However, I only plan after the middle of a story, never at the beginning, otherwise it seems forced and unnatural. Just a warning: from here on, things get real.**

* * *

Chapter 13

My breath was coming in short, ragged gasps of air. "What are the Cinders?" I hissed, voicing my inner thoughts.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but the air in front of me seemed to condense into more of a solid figure- if such a thing was even possible. "My name is Hiss," the spirit rumbled. "The Cinders are right here. Remains of a great culture. Only ashes and bones are left."

I shivered. "The kits," I nearly whimpered. "The kits. They- they can't last long. I need to get back to them. There are dangers out there. Foxes. Badgers. Stray loners and rogues could have gotten to them. Please- I don't have-"

"Time?"

Hiss finished my sentence with what seemed to me like a slight scowl. "There is all the time in the world here. Because here," he whispered in a soothing tone, "time stops. When it is time for you to go, then you may go out. It will still be the same night as when you first came in."

I frowned at him. "Really?" I still didn't trust this spirit entirely, but I wasn't in the mood for arguing, either.

"I'm telling the truth," Hiss insisted. "However, once you leave this place, you will not be able to come in here again. This is a special place. It is what made the past EarthClan so powerful. The cats do not age, so they have no need for hunting outside. They will always remain youthful, and prosperous."

I nearly sucked in a breath at that. "That's... cool," I gasped. "But I really need to go, because the kits need me and-"

"Remember, there is all the time in the world here," Hiss interrupted me. "Come. I have someplace to show you." Suddenly, a slight wind seemed to rush past my flank, traveling on to where I stared, open-mouthed. "Hurry up!"

I managed to gather myself onto all four paws and follow the old spirit on through the winding tunnels.

Soon, we came to a place where the glowing spirits didn't seem to be crowding in as much and a large, earth-bound room lay before us. It didn't look like the one that Tigerkit, Stonekit, Frogkit, and I were in before, but still... I frowned, remembering something. "Hiss, I've already left the Cinders once. But I came back. How?"

Hiss whirled around, staring at me through his pale ghostlike eyes. "Really? Well, then I must have gotten something wrong... Oh!"

He smiled at me once again, that strange, transparent smile. "I meant, you can only leave for two times before not being able to come back here. Sorry, my mind is all jumbled up these days. It happens when you're as old as me."

I nodded. "So, what is this?"

"We're just getting to the best part," Hiss grinned. "This..." he made a whole show of swooping around and around the room a few times before finally settling down next to me, "is where the members of EarthClan used to all make their dens and share tongues."

"That's cool," I replied politely. "But if you really are as old as you say... then why are you still here? I thought spirits couldn't last long in the living world."

Hiss stiffened. "It's not nice to ask spirits about spirit-related things," he scowled. "It brings back bad memories. But yes, you are correct. Most spirits just fade away if they aren't in the spirit realm without a physical body. But this place is special, you see. Our time is never up."

Something was strange about the skeletons lying all around, and his explanation in general, but I couldn't quite pick out what. "But then-"

"No more questions, I am getting tired," Hiss retorted. "Like me, you must rest before heading back to the kits. I know you do not need to eat or drink here, but..." he pushed forward a small ball of soaked moss to me- where had it come from? "I suppose you are thirsty?"

I nodded, shrugging, leaning my head down to take a small sip of the cool, refreshing water- there were some dust particles in there, but I didn't mind. When the moss ball was almost bone dry, I pushed it away, curling up into a small bundle of fur. Hiss purred in amusement. "Tired?"

Exhausted, I tried to say, but I didn't want to move my mouth to form the words. I didn't even want to make myself more comfortable. Because all I knew was that I was more tired than I had ever been in my whole life.

But even as I drifted off slowly to sleep, there was still one thought in my mind: I could really afford to stay in this nice place a bit while longer.

* * *

Leaf screeched in pain as Mistflame's claws tore through his fur, ripping out shreds of his brown pelt.

Creekstar was somewhere a few fox-lengths away, staring at the commotion with uncertainty in his eyes, but it wasn't until Leaf screamed at him to _run_ that he made a single movement. Soon, his rump disappeared into the lush undergrowth, while Mistflame did not even spare a glance at him.

Eventually, Leaf managed to scramble away, panting for breath and Mistflame shrieking bloody murder after him.

But he couldn't see his former leader anywhere, and he was more lost than he realized with an angry she-cat on his trail. Things were getting worse, he realized with a pang, trying to catch his breath. Maybe this wasn't the best plan he ever had. But he had to keep going with it.

* * *

 **Like I said, stuff is starting to happen. Over the next few chapters, it will get even deeper. Just you wait.**


	15. Earth

**I've actually got drive for this fanfic now! Love the plot I came up with to death *evil grin* not that I came up with much...**

* * *

Chapter 14

I found myself in a grassy clearing.

Somehow, I knew that I was dreaming. It didn't occur to me all of a sudden. It was just a slow, gradual, peaceful realization that what was happening right in front of me wasn't real and that I couldn't do anything to affect what I saw.

There was a clearing, and in the clearing was a white tom. He was with someone, I noticed, a tortoiseshell she-cat. They were curled up together, tails intertwined with each other's, stretching out in the lazy afternoon sun. It just looked all so... peaceful.

That was when I noticed I could see _through_ the ground.

I didn't immediately leap back with fright. In fact, something told me that I couldn't move even if I wanted to, so I just stayed put. There it was, the grass swaying in the gentle manner that the breeze blew it in. But if I focused more clearly, I could see that the ground wasn't really as solid as it first appeared.

The meadow was not as soild as I first thought. Now that I concentrated, I could see that nothing was really as substantial as before. What did that mean?

Something about the white tom seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite pick out what. It was only when he started speaking that a chill ran down my back and my paws felt frozen to the apparently transparent ground. "Quiet Storm," he began. "I promise I'll be-"

"I trust you to be a good father," Quiet Storm purred. For the first time, I seemed to notice her plump belly and the uncomfortable-looking posture she was taking. "Especially because you're my Swishing Fern."

Was there something familiar about Swishing Fern's voice? I tried to place a steady paw on my thoughts, but for some reason, they just wouldn't connect with my past memories.

My mind felt strangely muddled. I couldn't even hear myself think. It was like a thick blanket of fog and confusion had been wrapped around my brain.

Something grabbed out at me. I couldn't struggle or fight back, and neither did I want to. The same voice whispered in my ear, "Isn't it artistic?" The last word kept echoing in my mind, repeating and repeating and repeating again, and I felt for sure that my head was going to burst.

I was dragged backwards from the meadow, its sunshine, the two cats, and any feelings of optimism that I once had.

* * *

The next time I became aware of anything at all, I was in the same place.

I was standing, alone this time, the meadow spreading around me and the sunshine beating down relentlessly. But something felt different here. Undergrowth spread to all parts of the clearing, and the meadow was slowly making way for the growing forest to the left; a small, trickling stream flowed past to the right.

I heard a rustle behind me, so I turned slowly around, almost anticipating who stumbled through the ferns and bracken to pass right _through_ me as if I was nothing but thin air. I probably was. The tom took no notice of me, just hurried past to where a large clump of dirt lay beyond.

I watched with interest.

The tom- now I recognized him as Swishing Fern, only much older- lay down on his back besides the mound of soil, pressing his paw to it and murmuring something softly that I couldn't understand. I couldn't even hear anything, either, not even a single word.

I thought he must be going a bit crazy in his old age for a moment, but then realized that the pile of sediment looked suspiciously like a freshly-dug grave.

Quiet Storm, I thought immediately. Sure enough, as I padded slowly closer, I could start to pick up some of his muttered words- "I just want you to know that both of our kits survived to adulthood," he sobbed. "I'm sorry they're not... _here_."

I kept watching, entranced, when a rustle in the forest undergrowth beyond alerted my senses.

I perked up my ears, thinking that it might be something that only I could see- but Swishing Fern seemed to stiffen, too. His body was rigid with fear, and as he unsheathed his claws, he was muttering something so fast that I could only pick up a few words- "I- promise-"

Only one cat appeared out of the parting heather that surrounded the small meadow. It was a reddish-brown tom, and he had his head high and his posture relaxed as he stalked into the clearing. "My old friend," he greeted.

Swishing Fern growled deep in his throat. "Where is Swooping Falcon and Running Cloud?"

"Safe with me," the tom replied as he smiled. "They were quite happy to have an adopted family that loves them- unlike yours," he sneered. "They're just Falcon and Cloud now. Much easier for me to say."

Turning his attention to the mound of soil, he continued by commenting, "I see. Too bad that darling of yours isn't here to back you up. That's sad." The tom took a few steps forward, and Swishing Fern lowered his body into a battle pose. "The grave looks fresh, too."

"Don't you dare hurt her, Lightning!" Swishing Fern screeched, spitting.

Lightning pretended to look offended. "Since I'm here, I'm just going to borrow her for a while," he promised, still refusing to back up. "Just so your precious kits can finally meet their mother, and I do want to please them..."

With those words and a smile, he rammed forward into Swishing Fern, knocking him aside and speeding to the grave site.

I didn't move while all this was going on. But when Lightning began pawing at the mound of dirt ferociously, I took a step forward. "Stop," I mumbled, not seemingly able to call or shout. "Just stop."

The moment Swishing Fern got back to his paws, Lightning shrieked with triumph. "I've got her!"

I could only watch, frozen with surprise, as he hauled a tortoiseshell shape out from a giant hole in the ground and hauled it over his shoulders. Swishing Fern screeched bloody murder, but Lightning backed away a few paces. "Just need to borrow her for a while..."

Swishing Fern growled. I stared, open-eyed as he showed his claws in the morning sun, seeing it glint in the light. "I won't let you take her." He padded in a circle around his enemy, seeming to concentrate on something. "Or else you will feel my teeth and claws."

Lightning shrugged.

Suddenly, it was as if a huge, invisible river rushed past, whooshing past my ears even though nothing was there. I turned, but the gust of wind was gone. Lightning seemed to feel it too, though. He growled at the thin air, unsheathing his own claws in the process. "What was-"

Lightning paused; an unnatural look came into his eye, and he took a step back, dropping Quiet Storm's body.

"Bury her. I will never bother you again."

Swishing Fern stared at him suspiciously for a moment. When the other tom didn't move, he hurriedly dragged Quiet Storm across the ground by the scruff, careful not to leave any tooth marks in her flesh, and dropped her gently into the middle of the open grave.

The atmosphere seemed thick with tension, and as I watched him perform the silent task, I heard a soft, whispering voice in my head- "I trust you with this secret of possession, my mate," it hissed. "Don't tell it to _anyone_. Some would use it for evil."

* * *

The meadow and its clean air was lifted away from me, and this time, I found myself in an underground cave that looked suspiciously like the Cinders.

It was all quiet at first, except for the occasional chatter of conversation or cats shuffling out of the room into someplace else- for what, I was not certain of. Then a low rumbling began echoing throughout the cavern, and slowly, cats were beginning to mutter in fear.

Soil was starting to rain down. I could almost feel the dust pressing against my nose, struggling to get inside of me- but that was impossible, wasn't it? I was in a dream...

Something whooshed past me, and it was then that I realized that the dust wasn't really dust after all.

It was a spirit- a tortoiseshell she-cat, nonetheless. She fixed her gaze upon an elderly white tom, glaring with all of her might. "I trusted you," she hissed. "The only living cat to know of the spirits' secret- until now. This doom was caused by _you_."

Swishing Fern gulped. "I- it was- please-"

His voice was drowned out by the sound of falling dust and the particles that got stuck everything, in eyes and noses and mouths and ears and every single place they could possibly fit into. I thought it would never end, but when the grime finally cleared and the sand and power finally settled down... there was complete silence.

Somehow, I wished for the comforting whirl of chaos again. Because the silence was screeching in my ear-

* * *

 _EarthClan is no more._

* * *

 **Not very satisfied with this chapter... answered some stuff, but that was basically it.**


	16. Fires

**I'm just so caught up in publishing stuff and school stuff that I don't have as enough time to update this ;-;**

* * *

Chapter 15

"I suppose you had a good night's sleep?" a blurry green shape asked me- which looked suspiciously like a sitting frog. I groaned, trying to stretch, but for some reason, I could barely move my mouth to talk. "It has been a long nap, and I think you're all good to go now..."

I squirmed in my nest. Blurry green shape? Where did that come from? My eyes started adjusting to the dim light of the underground, and eventually, they fell upon the transparent form of a smiling spirit. "Just making sure you were fine," Hiss explained. "Muttering things in your sleep, huh?"

I nodded stiffly. "Can I go back to the kits now? There's really not much I can do here. Thanks for letting me stay and giving me that water."

Before I could fully rise onto all four legs, Hiss took a step forward in alarm, attempting to block my path even though his entire head and neck just passed through my body like thin mist. "But..." he trailed off. "It's been a long time since any spirit here has seen a living soul. Please, stay for just a little while longer."

Somehow, I remembered my last thoughts as I drifted off to sleep the night before. Something about staying in the underground for now... I stiffened, shrugging. "I guess."

"Good!" Hiss exclaimed, energy seeming to flow back into him again.

"Let's see... first, you can meet some of my friends down over here. They haven't had proper company in quite a while, and they miss the sound of a real voice. Second of all, I have a surprise to show you." He flashed what might have been a toothy grin at me.

I was wondering quite curiously what the 'surprise' could be, but I just shrugged again, looking up into his faded eyes. "Then let's go."

My sentence was barely finished before he turned on me with a whoosh of wind past my ears and began floating out lazily out of the cave entrance and out to the tunnels section of the Cinders, where the other spirits were hanging around. I waited for a few moments for my wobbling legs to steady, then followed after him rather hesitantly.

Soon, we came to a section of the tunnel where it got so low that we had to stoop under in order not to hit our heads- only me, in fact, because Hiss just moved right along near ground level like a snail, except more elegant somehow.

"So many names that I can't remember," he said, finally breaking the silence. "So don't blame me."

"Of course!" I replied, feeling more comfortable now that we had a conversation going. "I don't expect you to remember any name except your own," I added, feeling like I should have said something more.

It was only a few moments later that we crested the slope of a slight rise in the ground and came to the same entrance-way tunnel that I had entered through the day before.

Hiss automatically seemed more energetic the heartbeat he entered the place. "That's Ice," he informed me, flicking with his tail towards a pale gray she-cat spirit, "and that's Moss."

The first she-cat growled. "I'm Melting Ice, not just Ice. Got too much dust in your brain these days?" Her voice came out as a snarl, and I got the feeling that she wasn't on the best terms with Hiss.

"I'm Shaded Moss," the tortoiseshell tom beside Melting Ice muttered, softer than her but still audible.

Hiss rolled his eyes. Was it just me, or did he seem a bit nervous? "I do find it _much_ easier calling you by your nicknames," he purred, a little too loudly. "Because we have known each other for such a long time..."

"Swi-" Shaded Moss began softly, but just as he formed the first syllable, Hiss flew over to him hurriedly and shoved him into the wall behind him. Shaded Moss flinched as his body passed through earth.

I watched, eyes wide, as Hiss muttered something into Shaded Moss's ear and then, an eternity later, floated back to me with a forced smile on his face. "Now for the surprise," he said in a cheered tone.

* * *

It was getting darker and darker as we descended deeper and deeper into the undergrounds.

Hiss promptly told me not to fret about anything. "It's just a little thing I wanted to show you, since it's pretty cool," he informed me. "So you can go back with a lot of good stories to tell."

Just when the light level was getting so low that I could barely see my own paws move in a rhythmic pattern in front of me, something _leaped_ out from the walls and disappeared again as quickly as it had appeared. I stopped, shuddering. "What was-"

"Oh, just a shadow of the _surprise_ ," Hiss soothed. "I'm sure-"

I stopped in my tracks, staring, blocking the old spirit's field of vision. "Oh... wow. That's just... wow."

I couldn't find the right words for the first time in my life. It was a small room, to be truthful, tiny even, but what was in the middle was what made me speechless. Reaching up into the roof, billowing smoke, crackling softly like crunching leaves...

It was a fire. Not red, not orange, not yellow. Purple and blue and even some pink mixing together to make a kaleidoscope of color. Somehow, I was not afraid, even with its fearsome appearance.

"I know, I felt like that the first time I came in here, too," Hiss smiled, turning his head around to look at me. "But this is the Embers. It may not look like it, but it's already at the slowing-down-part of its life."

Still smiling peculiarly, he continued explaining. "The thick earth of the Cinders is the only thing that keeps us spirits from flying freely out there- where the other spirit realms are, that is true. Our souls long to reunite with other spirits aboveground- it is in our nature."

"In fact, spirits that are not in their own spirit realms for too long will eventually fade away, getting weaker and weaker until they are nothing but dusted memories. The Cinders are not a true spirit realm, you see. But the Embers- it keeps us well."

"So just by being here in the same patch of underground as it is, you don't fade?" I asked, "and spirits can fade by being in even a place where time stops?"

Hiss nodded. "It gives us strength by the mysterious stone that lies at the core, which almost works like a really long-lasting piece of coal here, and yes, you are correct." He seemed to tense as he was saying the words.

Something was bubbling to the surface in my mind, but I couldn't quite pick out what the idea was. "But if time really stops here, then what about all those-"

Brief panic of falling; a gust of wild wind, almost pushing onto my back. The sick feeling of being passed through. Blue. Purple. Pink. Heat rushing past my neck fur.

I disappeared through the flames.

* * *

 **There goes Cedarpaw. *shakes head***


	17. Stones

**Never mind, I do have time after all. Sometimes, I feel like writing this and sometimes I don't. (I update regardless of my feelings, don't fret about that.) I _really_ feel like writing this right now, however.**

* * *

Chapter 16

There was burning hot, searing pain in the first few moments- maybe just my own panic- and then, tranquil calm.

It was only a few heartbeats later that I realized that the flames were not scorching me, not burning the fur off of my skin, and definitely not about to end me. In fact… I seemed to be standing on something. Something large. Something hard. Something the color of searing white.

The stone. The coal-like substance that Hiss had talked about earlier. The one that gave the spirits power to keep existing on.

Breathless, I watched the world of flames rage around me. The center, however, was absolutely fire-free and somehow, no heat could be felt. "Hiss…" I began.

Sure enough, a few moments later, the nearly-transparent spirit appeared through the wall of flames with the most casualty that could be summoned. "Bend down and touch your muzzle to the stone," he commanded.

Numbly, hesitantly, I did as I was told to do. The stone was freezing cold, or maybe it was searing hot and there was no difference anymore, but I had to fight to not flinch away.

I stayed in that position for a while. Closed my eyes. Heard the constant, thumping beat of my own heart; and then, darkness engulfed my entire vision.

That was when the pain really came.

It wasn't just all pain. Sometimes, there were a few fleeting moments of relief and maybe even comfort. But then it would feel as if my head was buried under a thick sheet of lava again, clogging my ears and nose and mouth and eyes and not being able to move.

Distinctively several times, it happened. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… nine. _Exactly nine times._ It was as if I had just died nine times continuously, or... or.

 **I think you all know what just happened there.**

There was a brief moment of relief when a gust of wind flew past my flank, seeming to go right through me. It wasn't until something cold seemed to press against me that I realized- it must be Hiss standing nearby. But what could be the reason for doing whatever he was doing...?

Freezing cold seemed to seep everywhere inside me, but instead of through openings, it seemed to sink right through my fur and flesh and clasp my burning heart, my scorched bones, my... mind. My pained existence.

I silently cursed to myself through shivers and shudders that I would _never forget again_ that spirits in the living world had the power to possess bodies.

"Cedarpaw..." Hiss seemed to whisper in my head, but maybe it was someone else, because I seemed to recognize the voice as another cat's, too. Like- I froze. Like that voice that I heard all too often, that seemed to follow me wherever I went, the voice that seemed to grow stronger when I was down in the Cinders...

Hiss was _that_ cat. Hiss was _that_ voice. Hiss was _that_ soul.

"Explain, right-" my thoughts were cut off as slowly, the burning feeling slowly died down, my fur no longer felt burned, and my whiskers were singed no longer. But the freezing feeling would not go away in the same fashion. The cold was still eating away at me.

I could see flames, though; a tall, somehow desperate-looking fire, burning in a close ring around me. It looked tired, though. Like it had served its purpose for moons upon moons and now, it was ready to retire.

"Do you know what this means?"

I turned around, or rather, I tried to, but I could only stay in place as Hiss spoke again, from the core of my own mind. "This means power," he breathed. "This means control. This means _revenge_." He paused. "This means a new body."

"This means power in my new form. This means nine lives at my disposal. This means-" Hiss stopped, forcing my head to look out and beyond at the ring of flames. The fire and smoke seemed to be rising, up and up and thicker and thicker to the point where my eyes were starting to tear.

 _We need to get out of here_ , I silently thought to myself- and the new visitor that was stubbornly stuck inside of my mind. _The flames._

"I know!" Hiss snapped, using _my_ voice, _my_ vocal cords, and _my_ own tongue. "But... we can't leave right now." There was almost a hint of fear in his voice. "Not now. Not until... not until I'm better situated."

I concentrated on beating his control over my own body. If only I could stutter a few words... or flick an ear... or swish my tail... then I would know that I had at least minimal power over the possession. That I still had a chance-

My whiskers twitched

Hiss didn't seem to notice. He was still watching the approaching flames until they were almost on top of us. Engulf us in its fiery clutches. But I knew that that was not done by Hiss. It was _me._ Until he was better situated? Until he had total control over my body, that was. I couldn't let that happen-

I felt my vision turning to black all of a sudden, and then I finally realized that it from my eyes closing, closing from the radiating _heat_ that was coming from the crackling fire that seemed to overwhelm us on all directions. _Run_ , I growled to Hiss in my mind. _Just go._

Hiss hesitated. Just before the flames leaped forward to lick me on the shoulders, I felt the heat releasing its grip on my pelt. _What?_ It had been ready to completely engulf us a few moments earlier, and there was no time to put out a fire that size so fast, so where did it-

My eyes fluttered open. On _my_ command.

The fire was gone. No more flashes of blue or violet or pink. Just a strange, cold darkness that surrounded me on all sides. No, not complete darkness. Out of the corner of my vision, I could see the shining white of the stone. It didn't seem to glow as brightly anymore, though. Like the fire before it flickered out.

Suddenly knowing what was about to happen, I stared at the smooth surface with creeping anticipation.

First, the blinding silver sheen flickered several times before returning a tired, dull gleam. Next, the edges of the stone glowed brightly for a few moments, as if trying to light itself up again, but just kept flickering and shining on for a bit longer before, finally... the darkness seemed to engulf the light, and the faint glimmer disappeared altogether.

The stone was just a large boulder once more. No significance shone on its smooth surface.

I stood there for a little while longer, my eyes blinded from the light was that now gone, until a new voice now whispered, softly, in no place in particular- _Cursed be the one who takes more than is needed. Cursed be the one who has power that should not be given._

Serves you right, I thought to Hiss, but I just received a blank emotion of confusion back at me. That's when I realized- it wasn't talking about the old tom at all. The subject was _me._

Somewhere out in the descending darkness of the Cinders, souls faded and cut-off wails resounded.

I remember Hiss's exact words with a feeling of anguish. "In fact, spirits that are not in their own spirit realms for too long will eventually fade away, getting weaker and weaker until they are nothing but dusted memories. The Cinders are not a true spirit realm, you see. But the Embers- it keeps us well."

"I have done it," I barely heard Hiss whisper, his voice trembling. "It's all _mine."_

One tear droplet dripped down my right cheek. I shuddered inside my own mind. I didn't cause it. The tear belonged to me, true, but I didn't cause the emotion. I didn't cause the tear. Hiss did.

* * *

 **Told you things were going to get real. Some things to include in your review:**

 **Describe how dark you thought this was, and perhaps some theories on all those questions that still _haven't_ been answered to far? Such as the reason that Hiss called the other spirits shortened names, and what the other one was trying to say as the words were being cut off. ("Swi-")**

 **So, the magical stone that gave Cedarpaw nine lives is now extinguished. What do you think the stone is (this one should be easy), and what was the reason it got put out?**


	18. Secrets

**Only six more chapters (including this one) until the end! I guess I'm sad about that, but then again, that means the beginning of the next book, and its name will be revealed in the last chapter which is not an actual chapter :3**

 **Just be aware that Chapter 18 will be the actual finale, and not Chapter 21, because Chapter 18 includes the most action in the last six chapters.**

 **Chapter 17 (this one) is full of explaining, Chapter 18 is the long, action-packed something, Chapter 19 is some more explaining and a little action, Chapter 20 is just like Chapter 19, Chapter 21 is sort of a filler, and Chapter 22 is the end.**

* * *

Chapter 17

"It's all mine," I found myself saying as Hiss repeated his words from before, paws on the ground, eyes fixed at something in the darkness- at what, I did not know. "Mine for the taking."

I tried to do the same thing as before, to flick a tail or twitch a whisker or whatever, but no matter how hard I concentrated on the task at paw, I could not move a muscle of my own body. Panic was starting to squeeze my throat. If Hiss really took control over me forever... and the kits that I left outside for so long.

Where are the kits? I thought to Hiss. Nothing bad has happened to them, right?

Hiss responded by growling in my voice, "Those stupid furballs are fine. I don't see the reason for fretting over them every heartbeat of the day and night alike. I thought I told you that time stopped here?"

Strange, I thought. Now that my mind didn't seem quite to befuddled anymore- probably as a result of me just being a mere consciousness and not a creature with an actual existing confused, and perhaps even drugged brain- the thing that had been nagging at me for so long finally surfaced.

If time really stops in this place, I messaged to Hiss, then what about all those bones lying around? The cats wouldn't decompose if what you said really is true; also, when I first questioned you, you quite in a rushed tone said that you could leave the Cinders _two_ times before not being able to enter again.

Hiss hesitated. "Maybe I _was_ lying about that particular part. But even if that was true, then so what? What would I gain from lying to you about a supposed-"

To get me to stay without fretting about the kits and going back for them, I replied, thinking fast. The water in the moss ball that you gave me- there was some stuff in there. I thought it was just dust particles at first, but now... it must have been some sort of herb. Poppy seeds, maybe.

 **Don't believe me? Check back in the chapter titled Times. That's where Cedarpaw drank it.**

Hiss's- or rather, my own- ears were folded back in near anger, but there was almost a sort of grudging respect in his tone when he finally replied, "True, true. I'm surprised you figured it out. Guess you aren't just a stupid naive apprentice, like I first thought."

He paced around in a circle, despite the constant crunching of something that sounded like broken bones."But it wouldn't matter in the least. Not to me, not to the rest of the world. In your own small mind, perhaps, though. Because I have everything now, and you have nothing."

"I have seen many lifetimes waste by. What do they want? Nothing. So they get nothing. What do they do? Nothing. So they get nothing. It's all in the cycle. The cycle of useless cats." Hiss snorted.

"But I am special; a spirit cat came to my mother in a dream one fateful night. She said: 'What is one is the other, and what is the other is one. Only the two combined can bring peace to all.' It means you and me, you know," he excitedly murmured. "We're combined. We're powerful. We're going to be in control."

Not me, though, I thought, making sure that Hiss was listening to me.

"Finally, I see the future written out in front of me. I've struggled through so much. I deserve to be a hero. What have I lost my mate for? What have I lost my _life_ to? That one, stupid, single she-cat that I was so obsessed with, that I nearly lost my life for, the one who _ended me_. What have I suffered for?"

Hiss gazed around the darkened walls of the Cinders, as if noticing for the first time that they were there. "This."

His story sounded remotely similar that I had heard earlier, I reflected. Where had I heard a story where a tom lost his mate, who ended up killing him as a spirit? Or maybe I didn't hear it at a formal story at all. Maybe... in a dream, somewhere...

Forgive me if I'm wrong, I said to Hiss, but do you used to go by the name of Swishing Fern?

Hiss froze. "It's not polite for you to interfere in other cats' businesses like that," he growled. "But I suppose I will have to give it to you for that one, too. But like I said earlier, it doesn't matter to me in the least." He sighed.

"We had a daughter together that we don't like to talk about. Quiet Breeze, named after her mother's name, Quiet Storm."

"Quiet Breeze was always her own kind of cat, so energetic and rebellious. Then, she disappeared one night. I once joked with her that she would name one daughter after the beginning of Quiet. So that her mother would never be forgotten."

I was silent for a long time, thinking fast. I know someone called Quietripple, I replied to him. She told me that she wanted her future to be with me. How will your fulfill your ancestors' will now?

Hiss spun around, as if I was there right now, standing next to him. I could feel his spiritual grip on my own body loosening... "What?" he roared. "How? But- but there's no reason to think that she's not just some random she-cat with-"

I felt like falling. Darkness engulfed my vision for one second, and then I was on the ground, head spinning as I coughed up dust, with the transparent form of the bewildered Hiss floating right above me. He was shouting something, but I couldn't hear because I couldn't even think through the pain- and relief.

I had done it...

Just as Hiss swooped down to meet me, I picked myself up onto my own four paws, hopped a few paces, then began running. Somewhere, anywhere to get away from the old spirit tom.

* * *

 **Like I said, Chapter 18 is gonna be pretty action-packed. On another subject, I need OCs for my next book, most for the allegiances and some for my actual fanfic. Here is a submission form thing, and you can submit up to 3 OCs.**

 **Name: (Not a clan name, but instead a tribe-like name such as Flower Petal in Rain or something)**

 **Gender:**

 **General appearance:**

 **Other:**

 **OC forms are due on 3-26-17.**


	19. Ears

**Countdown: five more to go. This is the action-packed finale that's not really a finale that we've all been waiting for (I certainly have been anticipating this for a long time now). Here we go, I hope I don't mess up, because this chapter is supposed to be dramatic and stuff.**

* * *

Chapter 18

I ignored the sound of a shrieking spirit behind me and the loud whoosh of a sudden wind. The only thing I cared about was getting out of the Cinders, stat. My head still felt strange, and there was a certain throbbing, but I just forced myself to keep going.

I soon came to a stop in front of two seemingly identical tunnel entrances. Both became completely dark a few tail-lengths in, and there seemed to be no real difference between them, except that one had ferns growing all it and vines dangling from the top, while the other was absolutely vegetation-free.

Just before I could make my final decision, Hiss seemed to materialize right next to me, causing me to almost topple over with surprise.

Instead of blocking the path in front of me, though, he floated over immediately to the one with the plants, hovering over it defensively. My head spun again, trying to make sense of what was happening, but finally decided to just run over to the other entrance and disappear into its depths.

"There's no possible escape from here," Hiss called out from behind me. "I'll be waiting for you to tire down and stop running."

Shadows engulfed my vision. I had to stop for a few moments to look around in a desperate manner, trying to get my eyes to adjust to the dark, but the moment I felt a cold breeze at the back of my neck, panic squeezed my throat and I started running again, regardless of the low level of light.

I seemed to be running forever. My legs seemed to be set on a fire that refused to wither down, and my nose was starting to hurt from breathing in the near-freezing air in such large gasps. I tripped and bumped a few times at first, but soon, the ground seemed to smooth out quite a bit.

Maybe, just maybe, I was coming to the end of the tunnel?

Hushed whispers of something that I could not hear. Small chuckles. I could hear a voice; as I peered around a corner, I was startled to find light. Not just several small pinpricks. It was like broad daylight out there, and I swore I could almost hear birdsong chirping somewhere. There was a she-cat.

"My little Sunshine," the ginger queen purred, stroking the small tom-kit gently with her tongue rasping across his slick fur. "My everything..."

I padded forward a few steps, as if almost afraid to enter the scene. The two were sitting in the center of a clearing, with a large spruce forest growing lush all around them. Fluffy clouds hung in the light blue skies, and a sun was shining bright overhead. I would be intruding, wouldn't I?

The queen froze.

I stared at the tom-kit helplessly, and soon, a few moments later, he, too, stopped his squirming and just suddenly stood rigid, not a muscle moving. They didn't even seem to be _breathing._ That was when the graying began.

I thought I was just imagining it at first, but slowly, the tips of the queen's whiskers began to change colors. It began spreading to the other parts of her body, and soon, her entire form seemed to be encased in a thick slab of stone. The same was happening to Sunshine.

"No," I muttered, and then, one of the queen's whiskers fell cleanly off her chin and spiraled in the slight breeze for a moment before landing somewhere in the grass that I could not see. She seemed to be getting thinner, too. Like she was turning into stone that was slowly crumbling down with erosion-

Like a flower wilting in the relentless sun- like muddy clay crumbling to the ground in a shapeless heap- like melted fur and skin and flesh-

Something white gleamed dully at the edge of my vision, something that looked like bone, and I just lost it then, screeching at the top of my lungs, because that's all we were able to do, scream and holler and not be able to do anything to help, and I was just going to keep going until my throat dried and turned into stone like the rest of us-

The sun-lit meadow turned dark. I took a few steps forward, panting for who-knows-what, my paws feeling as if they had ran a thousand territories, brain feeling numb, everything else feeling numb- helpless- weak...

I emerged, stumbling into the same room as before with the same two tunnel entrances. Hiss was waiting for me by the vegetated one, a wry smile on his transparent face.

"I hope you're taking your time to realize how your escape will come to a timely demise," he commented. "What you just saw? Like our lifetimes. Empty of all meaning. We are born, we live, we influence if we're a few lucky chosen ones, we die, and the next generation repeats. Useless."

"Stop blocking that entrance hole," I gasped. "Stop cheating-"

"Of course," Hiss continued, "I wouldn't put it past you to not understand this at all. But who would there left to _be_ influenced when the boundaries of everything that you thought was possible faded and everything you worked for, failed?" He curled up his tail. "No matters; at least _I_ understand."

I stopped in front of the entrance that Hiss was hovering in front of. "Move out of the way," I insisted.

The old spirit tom stared at me for a few moments, before finally chuckling softly deep in his throat. "Eager to get to the point," he murmured, "just like me once. So then, be it. I will move out of _your_ way, as long as you get into the entrance _first._ " He seemed to hesitate for a moment.

Then, he charged.

I felt nothing but freezing air clutch my insides. Then I guess I started acting on some instinct on trying to get away, so I lurched suddenly to the left, which bought me a few moments of precious time. Just as Hiss was about to head for me again, I stumbled as fast as I could towards the vegetated entrance.

The moment I heard Hiss's agitated screech fill the air behind me, I crawled on through the darkness, panting, heart racing, breathing so hard it sounded like I was crying. Because I was _safe._ For now. But still relatively safe.

It wasn't a long time after I descended into the shadows that I heard voices again- which I stiffened to- and the soft trickling of a small river.

Scared of what I would find, I peered out more cautiously this time. Only a little light filtered through the sky above from the crescent-shaped moon, and as I tried to pad closer, I found that my paws would not take me in. It was just a vision. Only solid stone in front of me.

Instead of just a queen and her kit, however, there was also a tom standing nearby. The father, I guessed. He was black with thin gray stripes, while the queen was flame-colored and had shining amber eyes. The tom-kit, however, was brown with large green eyes.

There also seemed to starshine sparkling in the couple's pelts, less so in the small kit. Maybe it had nothing to do with size.

I waited for the same thing to happen to them as the queen and kit in the last vision, but to my surprise, the two seemed to be arguing. "What is this?" the queen spat, flicking her tail at the kit. "What is _he_ the overseer of?"

Overseer? What? The tom was glaring at the queen with a growing dislike. "I thought you wanted a good future for your kit no matter what he looked like," he retorted. "Being the daughter of Moon Shadow, I would have thought you had more sense."

"So what are _you?_ " The queen glared at the tom. "I thought the son of Sun Blaze would have more honor. What is _this thing_ that we have made? The overseer of earth? Dirt? Grass?" She scoffed. "If you want to, Dusk Shade, you can raise him on your own. But I'm not looking at _this_ any longer."

"Bright Glow-" Dusk Shade began, but she just cut her off with a furious hiss. "Son and daughter of the keepers of night and day, respectively. I thought _it_ would at least be the protector of the clouds or something. But what _is_ -"

"One that has power over those that grow on the ground," Dusk Shade sighed. "Relax. It's not like overseers are the _deities_ of anything. Nature takes care of itself. We're just... making sure that things run more smoothly. Even if he is just a normal kit..." he broke off. "I'll name him Leafed Branch."

The raspy sound of a dying voice croaked from behind me. I hardly recognized it as Hiss's. "The name of my grandfather."

I turned around in surprise. He seemed so far away, and so... weak. "So you don't have a body anymore," I finally realized out loud, "and the Embers are gone. That means... that means you'll be dead soon anyway."

Hiss ignored my words. "There used to be a time when I could not control my powers," he sighed. "Since I was only the grandson, I could only make ferns and grasses grow, but it was still a power. Everywhere I went, vegetation spread."

"That's the reason you were blocking this entrance before," I growled, backing away. "Because it was the path you took to get _into_ the Cinders."

Hiss bowed his head. "That was all in vain," he rasped, sounding truly defeated. "I should have known. I was being foolish. It was all for nothing. Nothing." He coughed in the middle of his speech. "The further down the line, the weaker the powers go until only a normal cat remains that can be on the earth."

"Guess I was normal enough." He chuckled, finishing his statement.

I was starting to feel sorry for him, when suddenly, he perked up his ears. "True, I'm too weak to try to possess you again... but not your _whole_ self, correct?" I suddenly got a bad feeling and began backing away. "But what if one of your claws got ripped out or your fur falls out?"

"Not that it'll keep me alive as a spirit... but certainly, I won't die out immediately once I pass into the place where old souls usually come to fade?"

Hiss began floating towards me, eyes level with mine and something flashing in their depths. I felt like falling again, except this time, I was also slowly being encased in a block of sheer ice. Frozen...

Sudden cold gusts of wind startled me into stumbling onto the uneven rock floor below. Something snagged onto my right ear, and I yowled in pain as something _ripped_ near the edges. Hiss wasted no breath in gloating, instead pressing his paws onto my severed ear part as soon as I started whimpering.

I saw blobs come up before me. Hiss's face was right in the middle. Calm. "See you in the next world," he whispered softly, seeming to fade from my vision.

I closed my eyes. I could hear the rushing and roaring of a deep, wide river. It was swirling around and around me, and I could hear nothing but the soft splashing of waves. I began to welcome the sound, embrace it, become it. Because I was fading off to sleep.

* * *

The next time I woke up, my ear was still hurting but my head pounded so much more.

I stood up groggily, stumbling for a few moments before finding my balance again. Hiss was gone. No wind blew through the tunnels, and as I slowly regained my posture, padding slowly on through the tunnel, I could only think of the light that was waiting ahead.

* * *

 **For those that didn't understand Hiss's explanation, since the severed ear was freshly... cut *shudders*, so it's still warm and has a bit of the 'aliveness' aura, which will grant him power even as he goes into the place-that-spirits-go-to-fade-forever.**

 **Hm, I see possible trouble with Spider next.**


	20. Prophecies

**Just a random reminder: I don't think I would be starting the third book right after I finish this one, like I did with Song of the Shadows. Instead, since this is the only one in the four fanfics that I'm currently writing that is anywhere close to being finished...**

 **I'll start up another fanfic- it's a secret- but it's gonna be short, about 5 chapters or so long, and about 500 words in each chapter, perhaps  
more.**

* * *

Chapter 19

I stumbled as soon as the first light ray hit me. It felt so amazingly wonderful- and unreal- that I just collapsed onto the soft grass almost instantly. There was still dew on the sprigs and water soaked into my fur, but I was so relieved that I couldn't care less.

I definitely heard the voices first of all.

"Cedarpaw! Cedarpaw!" I lifted my head to reply, only to have my mouth pressed on by small, writhing balls of fur that clung to me tightly with their tiny claws. "Cedarpaw!" I tried to push the kit away gently, only to have Tigerkit squeal on excitedly in front of me, "Where were you? There was a badger!"

I froze. "What?" I suddenly felt a gigantic wave of guilt for leaving the three defenseless kits to fend for themselves in the middle of the night. "Badger? How many were there? Is- are Stonekit and Frogkit still fine?"

Tigerkit opened his mouth to say something, when a light gray tail flicked over his face to prevent him from speaking. "I'm fine," Stonekit said in irritation. "The badger was just stupid. It sniffed around our den for a while before losing interest."

"So Frogkit...?" I asked, afraid for the worst. Stonekit just rolled her eyes in exasperation, before turning around and calling for his name.

Several moments later, the quiet tom appeared by her side. He seemed even more downcast than usual, although I noted with relief that he didn't seem to be hurt at all. His eyes were still pointing downwards, though, and I suddenly wondered what he might be thinking. "We're all fine," he muttered.

I sighed with a heavy weight lifting off from my heart. "But the badger isn't still around, right?" I questioned.

"Oh, it's probably just one badger of a whole family or more," Stonekit said, none of the usual cheer gone from her tone. "But we can deal with it. Right now, can you teach us some battle moves? Just in case? Please?" She looked up at me innocently.

Frogkit glared at her. "Right now, we need to get back to the clan, and safely, without meeting any badgers, as that is preferred," he hissed, sounding impatient. "Now; even the _bravest_ warrior can't last forever without shelter and food and water."

I shoved Frogkit to behind me. "No need to sound like that," I chided, "but your brother's right. We need to find out clan again before it gets too dark."I sipped from the icy cool water slowly, relishing the taste of liquid passing down through my throat.

The three kits were somewhere behind me, fast asleep, while I gazed at the makeshift den we had made proudly. Maybe we hadn't managed to find the clan this day... but a whole group of cats couldn't be too easy to miss. Besides, I must have remembered the directions somewhere in my mind...

I stared into my reflection, once again. That other day seemed like a whole generation ago. Even before that. When Hiss was still living, but thinking of that...

I almost leaped back in shock as a tortoiseshell outline began appearing on the ripples of water. Paws rooted to the ground, eyes fixed on the puddle, I watched until the identity of the mysterious cat was absolutely clear. "Can't you just leave me alone, now that you've faded?" I snapped.

Hiss chuckled softly. "I'm afraid not. But I do have followers, though, and time on my side, as well as fate itself. I may not have been able to achieve much in my own lifetime... but I have a prophecy."

"That seems like an awful lot of prophecies that have been about you in your single lifetime," I spat. "Care to admit to lying?"

"This prophecy wasn't _given_ to me," Hiss smiled. "I _foresaw_ it myself; and before you accuse me of lying, once again, I have quite solid proof." He winked at me one last time before raising his muzzle to the skies above. "Keepers of the ancient world, show to me a prophecy unfurled."

His eyes turned glassy. I tried to look away from their depths- it was both deeply disturbing and, as small as the feeling might have been, there was a sliver of regret.

"The branches overlapped show the way to the hero true, a daughter born from the shifting ashes," he rasped in a softer, almost feminine voice- possessed? "What is one is the other, and what is the other is one. Only the two combined can bring peace to all."

Only after the vision ended did I finally realize that the second part of the prophecy came from the one that Hiss had told me about before.

"That's all?" I snapped. "Random nature words? Combined with 'ashes' to make it sound ominous? I had hopes that this would be an actual prophecy, you know. Maybe I shouldn't trust you anymore, not that I did to begin with."

It took a long time before Hiss finally wheeled around, facing my scowl with an expression of clear anger. I was almost startled at the dark look in his eyes. "Fine," he retorted. "Then I'm just going to leave you with the only hint I have: every single word in that prophecy has _meaning._ "

Branches overlapped. Who was Tigerkit, Stonekit, and Frogkit's mother called? Sagewhisper or something? Wasn't her past mate named Burningbranch or something... and didn't she go a little crazy after he was gone? Maybe I could start there?

Just then, an angry yowl sent an unsheathed paw of claws down on Hiss's head, and with a last glance at me, the vision turned back to a reflection-filled puddle.

* * *

 **Here are words to ponder over, because like Hiss said, each one has a meaning: Branches overlapped, shifting ashes.**


	21. Interpreters

**I came back earlier than expected? I suppose that's a good thing, I guess? Random update news: I'm writing a new book because I feel like the old one was old and a little of a ripoff. So, there's that. I want to publish something I can be proud of.**

* * *

Chapter 20

The next morning, I didn't even bother to slow down as I walked to match the three kits' paces. This was _important_. Striding ahead, it was only a matter of time before they were far behind, laughing and batting at each other with their tiny paws. Well, Tigerkit and Stonekit, that was. Frogkit was staying by my side.

"I need to talk to you about something," I started hesitantly to Frogkit, not sure of what I was doing. "I had a... vision last night."

He pricked his ears in interest, but also what seemed to be wariness. "What kind of vision?" he pressed. "From StarClan? I thought they weren't real. Just myths made up to scare kits."

I paused. "I think it does even deeper than StarClan, Frogkit, although I still have doubts that they exist... It came from a really old cat." I decided not to mention my experiences in my second time in the cave- however much of a deep thinker he was, he was still a kit. "His name was Hiss. Gave me a prophecy."

"Ooh, prophecies," Frogkit commented, seeming to gain interest as I went on.

"Hiss said-" I struggled to remember his exact words- "something about overlapping branches and a daughter born from the sifting ashes and how one is the other and the other is one is how only these two combined can bring _peace_ to all." I let out a huge breath.

Frogkit studied me closely. "Hm. Overlapping branches. What do you think that symbolizes?"

"Burningbranch," I replied, "a past mate that your mother once had." Just realizing that this subject might have come across as painful, I added, "Has your mother ever talked about him? It seems like she was really fond of him."

To my surprise, Frogkit did not seem very affected and just stared up into my eyes, unblinking. I fought the uncomfortable feeling that was now welling up inside of me. "I've never received a prophecy before, but that seems too literal."

"Well, I've got to try _something_ ," I retorted, annoyed that a kit was instructing me on prophecy-interpreting. "So what about the sifting ashes's daughter and one and other and peace and stuff? I don't suppose there's someone called Siftingashes?"

Frogkit seemed mildly annoyed, too, as if he was talking to a very dumb cat. "Don't be so literal," he hissed. "It's not that simple. Like, what does sifting ashes resemble? What do you think when you hear the word 'ashes'?"

"Dead things," I answered, feeling curious and slightly concerned that a kit might have gotten the correct answer faster than me. "Remains, smolders..." I thought of the possession on the first day. "Dead cats that aren't really dead coming to life..."

"That's good," Frogkit answered. "What about sifting?"

I was starting to get annoyed again. He was sounding like my mentor, but even Jaggedfeather didn't talk to me like I was stupid or something. "Unsettled-ness," I replied after several moments of pondering, feeling like my answer was a little too obvious for Frogkit's tastes.

He nodded slowly. "So think of something that's dead and unsettled even in its lifetime. Like, cat-wise."

I didn't say anything for a long time. The answer was practically jumping up and down inside my mind now, but I didn't want Frogkit to have the pleasure of knowing that this was a much better interpretation of the prophecy than mine. "Hiss, like I told you about before."

"Perhaps," Frogkit answered with a wry smile. "His daughter? If he's really as old as you say... then she wouldn't be living right now. So it has to be one of his descendants. She's a female, and that narrows it down quite a bit, though."

I frowned. "I think it might be Quietripple." I had been saying the first thing that came to my mind when I first told Hiss that she was one of his descendants, but now, looking at the facts... "Or, the 'ashes' is really Quietripple's real father," I reminded, mostly to myself. "He possessed her for a short while."

"Sounds like a messed-up dad," Frogkit muttered, rolling his eyes. "But what about the one-becomes-the-other part?"

"No idea," I muttered, "but we can worry about that later. For now..." I glanced back at the energetic Tigerkit and Stonekit to make that they were still there, right behind us- "let's focus on getting back. We can ask Quietripple about it then."

* * *

Spider backed up slowly, heart pounding. "You're that cat who killed..." She flicked her tail towards the misty spirit she-cat hovering in the air beside her. "Her. But now that you're here... it won't be long before you fade."

Hiss gazed at the gray she-cat with amusement. "Not yet," he reassured. "You seem young, so maybe you haven't learned the way of the world yet. Don't worry- _I_ was like that once, too. Thinking that there could ever be a place where the strong didn't prevail- and only the strong."

He started pacing, studying each spirit's face as he went along. Spider noted a slight flash of silver from the end of his paws, but it was already too late when he reared up on his hind legs to pounce at her.

* * *

 **Meh, too anti-climatic, and Hiss's threats seem artificial somehow. Oh well (like I always say). This chapter doesn't even reach a thousand words without the author's notes. Or even with. It still doesn't...**


	22. Badgers

**To my readers: I won't be updating my stories as often anymore (but I certainly won't hiatus them) because I'm also writing a book on top of all the updates. What happened to the old one? you may ask. Well, that one was old and cheesy, like many of my past works.**

 **I'm not publishing that one. I'm turning to a new page in my life. Wow. *slow claps***

* * *

Chapter 21

The clouds flitted over the claw-moon as I peeked out from behind the bush. It was somewhere at midnight- we had come back to the camp much later than I had expected. But I had all the kits with me, and none of them were maimed or dead yet, which meant that I must be doing at least a decent job.

Stonekit and Tigerkit kept chattering excitedly behind me, and Frogkit had to go shush them several times at my orders. "Don't go in there yet," I whispered to all three of them. "I have to go check out something. You'll have a lot of explaining to do if you just... show up."

Stonekit began muttering something under her breath while I peered into the camp clearing for the last time.

No one was out, except for the lone guard sitting at the left end- the opposite of where I was. Still wondering if the indistinct form of the cat, whoever he or she was, would be able to scent me, I slid quietly through the large bramble entrance. Glancing back, I could see that the guard still hadn't moved.

I heaved a deep sigh in relief, while trying not to make any sound in the process. I didn't need my plan foiled at the last moment.

Guessing that Quietripple would probably be fast asleep in the warriors' den right now, my stomach nearly lurched at the prospect of seeing all those faces that I'd seen so many times... what would happen if they woke up?

I was halfway across the clearing before I finally got close enough to take a peek inside the shadowed den. There was a tail sticking out on the right, and I felt a strange urge to go chase it with a paw of sheathed claws. Stop it, I told myself fiercely. Just see if Quietripple's in there... that's all... she has to be...

She wasn't. I peered left and right, from between the woven reeds of the den, even going as far as circling from the back, but all I saw was the countless outlines of darkened, sleeping cats. Nice try trying to find a single she-cat in all this mess, I chided to myself.

It was finally the sound of a muffled yowl that made my fur stand on end and my paws stiffen. Turning my head around slowly, as if not wanting to know what I would see, the ice-blue eyes of Quietripple bored into mine from the guard position. Oh... StarClan. "Intruder. Badger," she whispered.

I frowned. Was that a new insult for her? "Quietripple," I tried to make myself say, but my mouth was frozen shut. "Quietripple..."

"Badger. Badger!" She raised her voice. "Help!"

* * *

 **O. M. G. This was the shortest chapter ever recorded in a DotS chapter. But I couldn't think of anything to squeeze in. The next chapter would be pretty long to make up for this, though!**


	23. Lives

**Gee, I am sorry.** **But I do have a life, you know (more than one other life, if you know what I mean).**

 **On my forum (StormClan, LightningClan, BreezeClan, and StreamClan RP; that's the name, word for word, please help us fight inactivity, and we're on the second page after less than three months), offline, on Deviantart as Stormshadow358, and on Scratch as Shadowstorm3.**

 **Now that I am done advertising with my social media accounts, let's get on with the last chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 22

Like shadows sliding across the night, dark shapes began to appear all around me. "Badger!" Quietripple kept screeching, and soon, before I could blink or even try to understand what was going on, I found myself cornered on all sides by growling, menacing forms.

I opened my mouth to speak. Flapping it uselessly for a short while, I soon gave up on attempting to find the right words and just shut it with a sense of fear. I could hear Quietripple's heavy pants from all across the camp clearing. "He's gonna... die again... Jaggedfeather..." she gulped.

I froze. "Jaggedfe-"

"It's not a badger _this time_ , Quietripple," a voice soothed from somewhere behind me. "It's just a pesky intruder." Right as I recognized the speaker as Brambletail, the tom continued, this time directing the conversation towards me- "I see," he squinted, taking another closer look at me. "Our _loved_ apprentice."

I nearly growled at him, then realized that I was in no position to threaten anyone here. "The kits are right outside the camp entrance, if you're thinking about them; all three are alive and well." I paused to hear a wave of relieved remarks pass through the crowd before continuing, "But Jaggedfeather-"

"Used to be my mate," Quietripple cut off. "I told him that I wanted nothing more to do with him anymore, a few moons ago. I tried to cut off our bond, act like I hated him, which was more or less the truth."

"But he still worries me, and then, with him doing who-knows-what nearly every night and coming back every time with an injured paw and some new scratches on his legs." I could sense Roseshade stiffening at the healer's den. **Don't believe me? C** **heck back in the chapter called Healing.** "So-"

"I would expect to have a full explanation from our dear Cedarpaw here as of the reason that he was gone for such a long time," Brambletail sneered. "So, Cedarpaw? Perhaps you have something to do with our beloved Jaggedfeather's disappearances, if Quietripple's word is to be trusted at all...?"

I took a deep breath. Should I? "I don't think where I was should be made public news," I finally responded, my head bowed, staring at my paws. "Rather, can I speak to Quietripple? Preferably alone, please?"

Suspicious murmurs among the crowd soon were extinguished by the loud snicker of the brown tom. "Oh, that's how it is now, Cederpaw, isn't it? Strolling in and out of the camp whenever you feel like it, taking your mentor on random walks, and then asking us for a favor?" Brambletail flicked his ear.

Silence greeted his last remark. I felt like all those pairs of suspicious eyes were boring in through my fur, into my bones-

"H-" I tried to move my lips, but dark fur was pressing into my mouth, eyes, ears, anywhere they could possibly fit into, and I nearly fell down with the impact- something had hit me- "Watch as I finish off this traitor!" Brambletail yowled as he raised his head, giving me a full view of the skies above before-

Claws sank into my flesh and in that moment, I just knew that it was over.

I didn't try to struggle anymore. The sounds dulled into the distant background. It sounded like jeering, but it could have been cheering, too. Maybe I was screaming. Maybe I was totally silent. But my eyes were closed, or maybe they were still open and the dark fur was just pressing in too hard.

I didn't know how I was so accepting, so calm as pain racked my whole body, and my mind backed down from visions of someone miraculously coming in to save me at the last possible moment-

I heard the soft lull of a river tide. It was blue at first. Blue and aqua. But then it started turning light in color, as if the sun was bleaching it white, and as I struggled to see, because it was like a slight mist covering everything- red splotches were appearing in the river- red and white together...

The white was starting to give way to the red... all I could see were colors, and then the colors all faded into a non-color that was even worse than an unrelenting blackness...

* * *

The ache of a ripped ear. The agony of a severed claw. The soreness of a half-broken leg bone. The torment of a sliced flank. The sting of a scratched muzzle. The throb of a wounded tail... and the... _tingle of a slit throat_...? How could I not feel anything...?

I saw several distinct, but still blurry cat shapes in front of me. They were padding towards me slowly, some shaking their heads, others looking away, but all had bright sparks among their pelts- stars? "StarClan is real," I murmured in silence. "StarCl..."

 _You are not supposed to be here. This is not for you. Do not take another step. StarClan is for the honorable only. Those greedy enough to take nine lives that do not belong to them... such as the likes of you... shall pay..._

* * *

I bolted up straight, coughing up what I hoped wasn't blood.

Panicked screeches and yowls were ringing out in the camp clearing. My vision came back all at once, but my mind took longer to adjust.

There was the brown tabby tom, what was his name again, gasping and panting while informing the rest of the clan about the living dead... there was a blue-gray she-cat staring at me with a glint in her eyes... there was the muttering queen... there was... I thought I caught that blue-gray she-cat's name...

"Quietripple!" I shouted, struggling to stand back up on all fours. "I have to tell you- a prophecy- please, come with me! I know where we have to go now! The woods beyond! The overlapping branches!"

I thought she would question my motives, at least look confused, but one look around at the panicked cats milling around and she snapped her head back to me, meeting my eyes steadily before bounding for the camp entrance. I followed. It wasn't until we were nearly all the way out of the hollow that-

"There they are!" Brambletail's voice cried out triumphantly from behind. We turned. "Ge- get them!" he ordered. "Stormwing, please-"

The dark gray tom did not speak, just slid out of the crowd, padded over to my side slowly, long gray tail swishing, then stopped, refusing to meet my gaze. "I am afraid that Jaggedfeather is not alone in his wrongdoings," he said quietly. "I believe the young tom. Cederpaw, is it not?"

I looked up into his eyes with a prickle of discomfort running along my spine. I could sense Brambletail's confused stare from beside his director, but as I took a step back from Stormwing, he snapped, " _This does not mean that I trust you_. Guards!"

Quietripple coughed. "I believe that whatever Cedarpaw is planning for us, he wants to do it alone with me, so if you'll allow, Stormwing, please-"

"If he so much as moves a single tail-length without my authorization," the director continued, ignoring Quietripple, "then I will order them to pin him down immediately. I have also decided that the _whole clan_ will come along with us on this journey." Despite his confident tone, there was a mad gleam in his eye.

"I suspect that I know what he is doing, and that it may be of benefit to the whole clan. However, young Cedarpaw is not to be trusted with the secret alone. Brambletail, you are not the director, and so you will not be taking part in the discussion between me and Cedarpaw," Stormwing continued. "Quietripple, stay behind. We will watch you as well."

Before she could protest, I had just one thought in my mind: whatever Stormwing said, he was not doing this _for the benefit of the whole clan._

 **THE END**

* * *

 **Of course not really.**

 **I'm going to be editing this finale a little bit later, but for right now... I'm feeling drowsy... too many intakes of oranges and chocolate and bunny fruit-flavored snacks...**

 **But anyway, please leave a review and or favorite if you enjoyed this! The name of the third book will be shared in the next coming chapter, which will give you more information.**


	24. End Note and Information

**This is the chapter where I answer your questions, write special stuff, and announce the name of the next book.**

 **First of all... let me give you the allegiances after the book has ended! Just kidding, I'm not going to do that, because it'll basically be the same as the allegiances at the beginning of the book.**

* * *

 **Moving on, I will now give you the frequently asked questions (and answers) for this book! Be aware that I will not explain everything that you need to know, since some secrets must be kept in the dark for now.**

 **I can assure you that this round of frequently asked questions will be much longer (and more complete) than the one in Song of the Shadows: Losing Myself, since... well, since stuff.**

 **1\. Question: This was never explained. The she-cats were basically discriminated, but the reason was never revealed.**

My answer: I originally planned it to be part of the plot in the book, but later filed it away as just an interesting thing to think about. It's mostly because of keeping the clan partially separated and 'organized', if you know what I mean. *shrugs* I just don't have an answer, so sorry.

 **2\. Question: So many cutscenes that had cliffhangers! First cliffhanger: what happened to Spider after Hiss attacked her?**

My answer: I can't tell you.

 **3\. Question: Second cliffhanger: Mist. Seriously, what happened to _her_?**

My answer: I can't tell you.

 **4\. Question: Third cliffhanger:** **Sparrowchirp, Spider's mom- she was led into the forest or something and then what...?**

My answer: This, I can tell you. Sort of. It'll be covered in the third book. That's all I can tell you. It involves the characters from the second book, too.

* * *

 **Dear Person,**

 **Hello, Person. On April 21, 2017, I have finished the story, Hymn of the River: Finding Truth.**

 **It was a bad name, and worse still in the face of the awesome (not really) name of the next book in the Dance of the Stars (DotS) series.**

 **So that I don't keep you waiting for much longer, I will tell you right now: Melody of the Wind: United Death.**

 **Exactly as I wrote it: Melody of the Wind: United Death. Without the period at the end, obviously, like I said last time.**

 **Let's repeat that one more time, in case there's that one person who isn't paying attention: Melody of the Wind: United Death.**

 **I hope you understood that fine. *grumbles* I will not be publishing that one for a while, but definitely in less than a month, because I have other stories to finish and torture you with.**

Please keep a close watch on my profile in case I suddenly publish it!

 **-Storm**

 **Stormshadow3**


End file.
